In Infinitum
by Drake S. Hellion
Summary: Inside the Micro Dyson Sphere two humans and eight SPARTANs are finally free to leave their prison/haven only to end up in whole new universe and another war, Now they must stop forces left unchallenged for millenia. RnR and I own nothing mentioned.
1. Prologue

**In Infinitum**

**Prologue**

**0300 hours, unknown date and time(military calendar). Unknown location within Micro Dyson Sphere.**

Inside the small, yet large world of the Micro Dyson Sphere. Dr. Catherine Halsey was staring off into the seeimingly undending grasslands with a contemplative expression. _How long has it been? Feels like minutes…but I know it's been longer._ she thought to herself, her eyes drifted to where Chief Mendez was running the SPARTANs through some drills in full gear to keep them sharp.

Halsey suppressed a smile as she watched them, but also felt a pang of regret and sadness for those that weren't here, but could have been. Holly, Dante and so many more. _Not now…_ she thought with a shake of her head. _I still have to figure a way out of here and then get them up and about_ she turned her gaze to team katana, all of which were still in a form of suspended animation.

"Dr. Halsey!" The blond woman turned her head to see it was Kelly who addressed her.

"Yes?" Halsey inquired. Cocking a brow at the SPARTAN as she adjusted her glasses.

"Care to join us?" Kelly asked, gesturing to a spot in the grassy meadow they called 'home'.

Halsey smiled, sitting and dusting off her skirt before making her way over to the group, taking a seat between Kelly and Fred. "What exactly have I joined?" she asked with a curious glance to them.

"Story circle, ma'am," Chief Mendez replied from his place across from her, to his left was Lucy, Olivia sat to Lucy's left, and to his right was Linda. "We're exchanging our past war stories, to pass the time and keep our minds sharp." he explained seeing Halsey's curiosity.

Halsey nodded and noticed the lack of two SPARTAN IIIs. "Where are Ash and Mark?" she asked.

"Patrol." The senior chief replied, "They insisted." he added.

Halsey raised a brow. "They do realise there aren't any Covenant here, correct?" she asked, to which Mendez shrugged.

"I have one…" Linda said from her spot, "During this Op in the outer colonies, me, John and Victor were ordered to destroy a Covenant outpost on a meteor station," she explained. "During the operation, John told me and Victor to watch his six, middle of the operation a Grunt got behind him with a plasma pistol," everyone was aware of the amusement in Linda's tone as she spoke. "When I shot the grunt, John turned and I was sure he was embarrassed." the group shared a chuckle, the closest to laughter they'd come since the last few days.

_If only you were here, John…_ Halsey thought of her most prized SPARTAN. _We certainly could use your luck about now_.

Suddenly, a rippling in the air caught the doctor's right eye, turning she squinted at it. Then realization dawned on her features. "Another slipspace rupture…" she said.

Chief Mendez snapped into action as the commanding officer, "Fred! Kelly! On point with me," he turned to the two SPARTAN-IIIs, "Tom, Lucy, Olivia. Protect Halsey." when the three nodded Mendez turned to Linda, "Provide overwatch."

Linda nodded, reaching behind her and taking her SRS99D-S2 Anti-Material rifle from her back, quickly popped the magazine, when she saw the four rounds she slid back in and nodded to Mendez.

Mendez gave a small nod and lead the two SPARTAN-IIs towards the rupture, which was slowly becoming bigger. Stopping Mendez raised a close fist and the three simultaneously raised their MA5B assault rifles at the rift, the three began to take small cautious steps towards it in a V shaped formation.

When they reached the anomaly it was already in large form, able to fit Mendez easily. But the SPARTAN IIs would have to duck to get through, "Permission to enter, sir?" Fred asked from behind him.

Mendez nodded.

Slowly Fred stepped past him, Kelly moving behind him as the three kept their weapons trained on the portal, hesitantly Fred reached his hand out and slipped it through the portal.

He jerked forward, Kelly grabbing his arm as she too was pulled through the portal like a rag doll. "Kelly! Fred!" Mendez called before following them through with a leap.

"Sir!" Tom and Olivia called in unison, in an instant the three SPARTAN IIIs were running towards the rupture, Halsey behind them.

Linda raised her head away from the scope, stood and rushed forward while slipping her M6C pistol from her side. By the time she got there Lucy and Tom had jumped through after Kelly, Fred and Mendez, leaving Halsey and her.

Soon Ash and Mark joined them, standing with their weapons aimed at the portal.

"After you." Halsey said politely to Linda.

Linda jumped through with Ash, Mark and Halsey following close behind.

**End prologue **

**The lack of descriptions is cause I'm saving it for the actual first chapter, so yeah. hope it was good.**


	2. Dimension jumped

**In Infinitum**

**Chapter 1: Dimension jumped.**

**2185, (Alliance Calendar) 1300 hours, _SSV Manila_-Science deck.**

A few of the other lab workers present quickly moved to the com console, "Captain! The beacon has suddenly activated! We're detecting massive energy spikes within the containment room!" he reported, his voice urgent as the beacon lit up brightly, nearly blindingly so.

Soon the blinding blue and white light was accompanied by sparks of lightning as they lashed out in the room. "What's happening!?" one of the workers yelled.

As soon as it had started, it ended and in the prothean beacon's place was now a, what the workers could only call, a tear in the very air, it was a blue-ish hue of light.

One of the scientists pointed to the blue portal, "It just opened, the beacon is gone and that's what in it's place…" he explained quickly.

The marines nodded and proceeded into the room, their rifles trained on the portal. "The captain is on his way, we hold it secure for n-"

The four turned and sure enough, a large armoured hand was visible, then suddenly it shot out through the portal, bringing a while body with it and another suit of armor too as the large, humanoid suits hit the floor with a loud clang and screech as they impacted dully with the wall below the one way mirror.

The three marines moved, then stopped when another thing came through the portal, this time it was a human, this one was well muscled from the looks of his arms and the way he moved, his face as far as the marines could see had several brow to chin length scars and neat silver hair. _Definitely military…_ the sergeant thought.

They then noticed the man was armed and aiming at them, his eyes showing suspicion, realization and a instinct to kill, the marines raised their weapons again. "Put your weapon down! Now!" the sergeant shouted.

The man didn't move to put his weapon down, his eyes did glance at the two suits of armor, but then snapped back to them as quickly. "I will say it one more time, put. The. Weapon down."

The man moved his weapon from each of the marines.

Then three more figures came through the portal, these ones were adorned in identical black armor, their matte black visors staring blankly back at the marines as the three new arrivals assumed the same posture as the man with the same weapons.

It was a tense standoff as neither side fire but kept their triggers fingered.

"Orders sir…" one of the black clad soldiers said finally, the voice undoubtedly male, but it sounded young.

"They haven't fired on us…" another said. "Perhaps they're with the UNSC?" this brought questions to the marine's minds, but they didn't speak them.

"Their armor suggests otherwise…" the one who spoke first said.

"Insurrectionists'?"

"Cut the chatter…" the man spoke finally, his tone gruff and thick with authority, "Name and rank."

The sergeant nodded, "Jake Munlow, sergeant within the systems Alliance."

The portal rippled again and out shot a another suit of armor, this one landing with a roll and getting to it's feet with a graceful accuracy and holding a long barrelled rifle in it's hands.

Jake and the other Marines openly gaped at the figure in the armor, the thing had to be about seven feet tall! it dwarfed them all easily. _Hell, it's head nearly reaches the damn ceiling..._ thought Jake in awe and fear.

Three more figures left the portal and Jake was beginning to wonder if they should expect a whole company of these…whatever they were. Two more black clad soldiers stepped through, but the final one to leave the portal was a blond woman wearing a lab coat, a plaid blue skirt with a light blue dress shirt with her blue eyes eyeing them behind some glasses.

The four marines were now definitely outnumbered. "All of you! Put your weapons down now!" Jake yelled trying to get control of the situation.

The seven armed figures didn't lower their weapons, the woman was obviously unarmed addressed the silver haired man. "What's the situation? Mendez." she spoke curiously.

The man, now Mendez, replied curtly, "They claim to be part of something called the Systems Alliance," he then added. "Thoughts? Doctor."

The woman appeared to be studying them as her eyes traveled up and down the four marines bodies, normally a woman eyeing them would have been flattering, but the way she looked at them it was as if she was staring through them.

"What year is it?" she asked finally, meeting Jake's eyes.

Jake was a little caught off guard by the question, but snapped out of it and replied. "2185."

The woman's face remained impassive, but he could see the myriad of emotions that crossed her eyes, disbelief, confusion, concentration and then acceptance. "I see…" she said, turning to Mendez, "I suggest we not act hostile, they are not our enemies it seems," she glanced at the four marines, "I would also like to see if my theory is correct." she added.

Mendez nodded, "Stand down." he ordered softly. The other six soldiers lowered their weapons, some more hesitantly than some.

The four marines followed suit, "Our captain is on his way, you can speak with him, until then, I am not at liberty to discuss anything with you other than our names and basic information." Jake explained.

"That completely depends on 'basic' information," the woman said pointedly, "We will wait for your captain." she nodded.

A groan shook all the gazes in the room to the two armoured figures on the floor, one in the large dome like visor turned to them, then to one it was sent with, shaking it's shoulder the other began to stir.

"Kelly, Fred…" the woman called, turning to them. "Status?"

"Green…I think…" A female voice replied from one of the figures, the sergeant dubbed her Kelly. "Fred?" he was right.

"Green, ma'am." the other armoured figure, Fred, replied.

The woman slowly nodded, then turned back to the marines, "I was wonderi-" the doors of the room slid open again.

In walked a man who looked very important, chest held medals and the rank of Captain was over his heart and arm. The four marines snapped off salutes, which the captain returned. "I see we have guests…" the captain said, raising a brow at the lot before him. "I'm Gerald Veron, Captain of the SSV Manila of the Systems Alliance." he recited. "You are?"

Mendez spoke first, "Senior Chief Petty officer Franklin Mendez, UNSC navy." he said with strict military protocol.

"Catherine Halsey," the woman, Catherine, said easily.

"SPARTAN-058." the rifle holding armoured figure said, the voice female and quiet.

"SPARTAN-104."

"SPARTAN-087."

"SPARTAN-G099, Ash."

"SPARTAN-G254. Mark!"

"SPARTAN-G022, Olivia."

"SPARTAN-B004," Tom indicated to the one next to him, "This is SPARTAN-B292." he said. making a mental note to explain to the others not to give their names to anyone outside the UNSC when they were alone, assuming the other SPARTANs didn't do that first.

The captain took note of who was who and how many of these 'Spartans' there were. "I've never heard of your ranks, Spartans and senior chief petty officer." he said slowly, choosing his words. "I would have to ask how you came to end up in my ship."

Halsey nodded, "Very well, but only with your superiors I'm afraid, the information I have cannot simply be divulged to anyone but Lieutenant Colonel or higher." she stated, crossing her arms over her chest.

The captain hesitated, then nodded. "Alright, I'll arrange for a communication setup, but before that, I would kindly ask you to surrender your weapons for the time being." he stated, gesturing to the SPARTANs.

Halsey sighed, "You shouldn't have said surrender…" she mumbled while massaging her temples.

The SPARTANs held their weapons firmly. "You'll have to take them…" the one called Kelly challenged. A few of the others nodded in agreement with her words.

The captain sighed, already seeing the futility in his words. "Alright, but raise them against any of my crew, and we'll gun you down." he warned with narrowed eyes.

Halsey nodded curtly, "Lead the way then, Captain Veron." she said. He nodded, turned and left the room with them in tail.

* * *

**Communications room-_SSV Manila-_eighteen**** minutes later.**

"Who knew an elevator ride could take so long..." Halsey muttered as they left the elevator, it had been extremely cramped inside the thing, each having to make two trips to get everyone aboard and up to the required deck.

Kelly with her even sharper reaction time, also had a hard time waiting for the elevator decided to comment, "Does ship seem...small to you?" she asked Fred.

"Yeah..." he reached his arm up over his head a foot and poked the ceiling, "Very..."

Tom put his two cents in, "I defintely believe we're in a differant dimension now..."

Halsey clicked her tongue, "Reality would be the proper term," she stated, raising her glasses, "This isn't a sci-fi novel."

"Keep up," called Jake as he moved ahead of the group, "We're almost there."

"Finally..." Kelly muttered into the private com.

All the SPARTANs winked green.

It wasn't long until they reached the com room, a large room with three consoles and holo-screen, "Ferns! Get me a secure connection to command!" Jake called into the com.

"Aye, Aye Captain," Ferns the communications operator replied through the com, "Connecting…there."

There was static for a few seconds, "Admiral Hackett here," a gravely voice said finally, "This is a secure channel son, I hope it's important." the admiral said.

Jake glanced at the SPARTANs and the two normal people, "Yes sir, I think you will agree it is," he said, taking a breath before he started to explain, unaware the SPARTANs themselves were speaking as well.

Ash com'd the other SPARTANs, "Thoughts?" he asked knowing he or the others wouldn't be heard in the private channel.

"I still think they're insurrectionists." Said Olivia, "Probably trying to stall us while they prepare a plan of attack." she explained.

There was a pause in which each of the SPARTANs thought it over, "Doubtful, the hanger we passed had ships I've never seen before, and I've served a lot of ships." Linda replied logically.

"She's right, I've never seen these types of ships too, have you? Fred." Kelly spoke.

"No, I haven't…" Fred replied, "These are definitely not insurrectionists." he said.

"I agree," Tom added his two cents, "plus the ship seems too organized and well stocked, we also didn't pass anything on the two decks we traveled to get here that suggested they were. Right Lucy?" Tom asked his best friend and team mate.

Everyone saw the green light wink on Lucy's name.

"Still…" Olivia said, "A different dimension…sounds far fetched, doesn't it?" she asked.

"You mean like ending up inside a sphere the size of a fist?" Ash retorted.

Linda pointed out. "He has a point…"

"They're addressing us now." Kelly said before anything more could be said.

The SPARTANs noticed that captain had turned to them and was now getting ready to speak. "Would one of you kindly explain your situation and what lead you here?" he asked politely.

Halsey stepped forward with a sigh, "Admiral Hackett, was it? I hope you're sitting down, cause this explanation is going to take some time." _Not to mention the questions afterwards._ She thought, almost sighing again.

The SPARTANs thought about listening, but then decided to simply debate their situation further throughout the rest of the lengthy explanation.

* * *

**End of chapter 1**

**There it is, the first chapter, it's short I know, but this way I'll update quicker and not feel too overworked. Now I wouldn't mind some reviews, they'd make me move quicker…just putting that out there.**


	3. Agreements

**In infinitum**

**Chapter 2: Agreements**

**2185, (Alliance Calendar) 1400 hours, **_**SSV Manila**_**-Communications Room.**

At the end of the explanation Halsey sighed. "And that, gentlemen, is how we came to be here," she finished calmly, but also with a tone of mild exhaustion as it seemed the lack of food and water inside the micro dyson sphere was taking its toll. She was also sure to keep out of the details of the SPARTAN II and III programs, along with a few other secrets.

There was silence over the com and Jake was sure the SPARTANs had fallen asleep.

Mendez was awake and paying rapt attention, hands behind his back and standing straight.

"Well…" Admiral Hackett said finally, his voice holding some degree of awe. "I must say, Dr. Catherine Halsey—"

"Just Halsey, please," Dr. Halsey interrupted him, "I've been following military protocol for too long, I'd like to keep the formalities to a minimal," she explained.

"Very well, Halsey," Hackett agreed, "Your story sounds, for lack of a better word, completely insane and were it any other instance I would have you restrained and questioned." He paused "However, from the way you tell it, it sounds quite possible."

Halsey nodded. "Thank you, Admiral."

"This…Covenant sounds like a real threat, are you sure they aren't able to follow you?" Hackett asked now.

Halsey shook her head, "I can't be entirely sure, Admiral if me and my allies ended up here, there's always a slim chance the Covenant could follow us as well," she explained. "Though we ended up here by some miracle." she added, glancing at the SPARTANs.

There was a thoughtful hum from Admiral Hackett. "What are you going to do now, Halsey?" he asked.

"We're going to get team Katana from the portal and try to find some way to revive them." she replied without hesitation, putting her SPARTANs first. "From there however, I don't know." she admitted.

"I see…" the Admiral said. "Would you be interested in a small transaction?"

"What sort of transaction?" she asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

"From your story, it sounds as if your SPARTANs are very skilled military soldiers, I would like them to possibly train my soldiers for the Systems Alliance, after a test of course." Admiral Hackett replied.

Halsey raised a brow. "What do I get in return?" she asked.

"A reasonable amount of credits and a well stocked lab to work on reviving this Team Katana from whatever their state is."

Halsey thought it over quickly. "How many SPARTANs do you need?"

"How many are you willing to part with for a short while?" he replied.

Halsey bit her lip lightly, in truth she wasn't willing to part with any of her SPARTANs, even the S-IIIs who she still considered her own. But she also needed to revive Katana. "I need three volunteers," she said turning to the SPARTANs, who were all stock still. "Step up if you wish to take on this mission." She knew it was an underhanded trick to use the word 'mission' on her SPARTANs, but it saved her from having to choose herself as she wasn't sure she could choose which were to leave.

"I will," Fred stepped forward with a salute, "As leader of blue team."

Halsey nodded. "Me too, Ma'am!" Kelly said, instantly at Fred's side.

"I will go too," Linda took a step forward. But Halsey shook her head, making Linda turn to her. "Ma'am?"

"I want at least one SPARTAN-II with me," Halsey replied. "Let one of the S-IIIs go with Fred and Kelly," she said.

Linda nodded, stepping back while feeling disappointment gather in her gut, but she forced it back and instead focused on her rifle. _There will be other opportunities. _She thought to herself.

Mark stepped forward. "I'll go with them." he said, turning to Halsey, "With your permission, ma'am," he said.

Halsey nodded, giving the SPARTAN III a gentle smile. "Alright." She turned back to the com station. "You have three SPARTANs, ensure they are kept safe," she said with just a hint of a threat.

"Of course, Doctor," Hackett replied reassuringly. "I'll have the _Manila_ bring you and your SPARTANs here to Arcturus Station."

"Arcturus station?" Halsey asked.

"It's essentially the Systems Alliance capital, our main command is here, along with many smaller facilities; you'll be given a lab and anything you might need that is within reason," the Admiral explained.

Halsey nodded, "That is acceptable," she said. "I also want a report of what my SPARTANs are up to while in your care," she stated.

"That too is acceptable." Hackett agreed.

"Good." Halsey said. She glanced around. "Now, if you don't mind Admiral…" she yawned, "I believe me and my SPARTANs will need some rest."

"Of course," Hackett said, "Captain, give them fitting accommodations." he ordered sternly.

"Yes sir!" Jake replied with a salute.

"Admiral Hackett out." The transmission was cut.

Jake turned to the large group, "I'll give you one of the free barracks," he said to the SPARTANs. Turning to Halsey he said. "I'll give you a private room."

Halsey nodded, standing and dusting off her skirt. Nodding to her SPARTANs, she said, "Alright, lead the way captain," she said.

Jake nodded, walking over to the door he exited the room with the large group in tail.

* * *

_**SSV-Manila**_**-Command deck-1600 hours**

Jake had lead them back to the Elevator, pressing a button they waited for it.

"You're kidding…" Kelly spoke to Jake, "Don't you have stairs?"

Jake nodded, "Yes, but they only lead to engineering," he replied. "Why?"

"I was hoping to take them instead of the elevator…" Kelly grumbled in reply.

Several of the other SPARTANs winked green.

Jake sighed, "You'll used to it." he said boredly. Soon the elevator doors opened and he walked inside and turned to them. "Alright, to the crew-"

"Not just yet," Halsey said raising her hand lightly. "We still have to retrieve team Katana from the portal, I don't want it closing with them still inside," she explained calmly.

Jake nodded, "Alright, we'll back to the containment room and go get this Team Katana." he agreed.

Two longer-than-should-be-allowed elevator rides later the SPARTANs, Mendez and Halsey were standing outside the observation window as Tom and Lucy brought Team Katana's stasis pods through the portal.

"Good work Tom, Lucy." Fred said into the com and received two nods.

"Ensure these pods are taken care of and not tampered with in any fashion," Halsey ordered the nearest lab worker, who nodded quickly at the woman's sharp gaze. "Good."

"Alright…" Jake said, gesturing them follow him. "Let's get you all to your rooms." They returned to the elevator.

"Great..." Kelly muttered to herself in thick sarcasm.

* * *

_**SSV-Manila**_**-Command deck-1700 hours**

Another two longer-than-should-be-allowed elevator rides later, everyone was gathered in a long room that was simple enough, the beds were also reliable. a steel frame with coverings and a pair of pillows, the room itself was blank with white walls and ceiling with about sixteen of these beds...all of which could not fit the SPARTAN IIs in their armor as demonstrated when Kelly attempted to sit down on one with full gear which ended with one less bed.

"I am not removing my armor," Kelly said firmly, crossing her arms as she stood before a cross looking Halsey.

"I have to agree with Kelly, Ma'am," Fred said from his spot against the wall, having been leaning against it with his eyes to the door. "I'm not fond of being in a possible hostile environment without my armor." he added.

Linda nodded; she was beside the door and her rifle was leaned up against the wall, but her M6C pistol was in her hand and pointed at the door lazily.

Halsey sighed and massaged her temples. "I know it doesn't sound appealing, but you all need your rest and I will not have you sleep on the floor," she stated firmly. She then had a thought that her SPARTANs had grown complacent on their armor and that thought scared her.

"Kelly, Fred and Linda!" Halsey spoke firmly, "You three will remove your armor and have at least nine hours of sleep on these beds, am I understood Spartans?" she asked briskly.

The three stared at her, under their visors was a general expression of surprise.

"Yes…ma'am." Kelly replied. Fred and Linda nodded.

The SPARTAN IIIs watched with equal expressions of amusement at the display, each was already removing their SPI armor, which held scratches, burns and long gashes.

Tom was the first done removing his armor, sighing as he ran his hand over his short black hair, his dark eyes showing his state of tiredness that was catching up with him in the form of dark bags under his eyes. He glanced down at himself, surprised his original clothing was intact, his green sleeveless shirt and gray sweat pants were alright.

He began examine his SPI thoroughly, it was a total wreck, but he couldn't bear the thought of throwing it away as it had seen him through so much, putting it neatly at the foot of his bed to turned to observe the others.

"Lucy, are you having trouble?" he asked, noticing said SPARTAN was glaring at her left bracer. Walking over to her bed he looked at the armor and saw the problem. "One of the locking straps is melted in place…" he said thoughtfully.

Lucy glanced at him, some of her longer dark hair falling into her eyes, but she ignored it, nodding she went back to glaring at her armor.

Tom chuckled, then stared at it. "We could try to pull it apart." he suggested. Lucy nodded at him, they both grabbed the piece of armor and pulled. There was a sound akin to plastic breaking as the melted strap snapped and the armor easily slid off Lucy's wrist. "And that's that." Tom said with a nod.

Lucy smiled and nodded, putting the bracer with her own armor as Tom made his way back to his own bed.

Ash tossed the last bit of his SPI armor at the foot of his bed and laid down with a relaxed sigh. "I'm beat…" he yawned loudly. His brown hair was slightly over regulation length like Lucy's and his brown eyes that were often focused were now tired.

Olivia was already in bed, arms crossed over her chest as she lay straight, her regulation length dark hair swept back, her dull green eyes opened to glance at Tom, "Yeah?" she asked quietly.

Tom shook his head, "I almost feel like a recruit again." he replied just as quietly. Olivia nodded and said nothing more as her eyes closed again.

Mark piled his armor even more neatly then most of the, they were evenly spaced, piled with careful precision that was expected with the red head's line of work as a marksman, his cerulean blue eyes checked over his armor one last time before he laid on his bed and rolled to one side for some sleep.

Tom yawned and turned to see how the SPARTAN IIs were doing, then his eyes widened a fraction at what he saw.

Kelly, Fred and Linda had all removed their armor soundlessly, their standard under armor clothes were mostly untouched except for a few tears on Kelly's and Fred's shirts; Linda's was untouched.

Kelly quickly moved her armor and laid it out beside her bed, everything was in easy reach for her, her brown hair was way over regulation in a high ponytail and her piercing blue eyes checked over the MJOLNIR armor once, before nodding to herself and lying down.

Fred's dark hair had several streaks of silver with almost the same kind of piercing blue eyes as Kelly.

For a moment Fred's gaze traveled to Tom and it felt as if a weight was added to his shoulders. Fred turned away and carried his armor beside his bed and laid down as well.

Linda sighed, her fiery red hair was just a few inches above regulation and her lucid green eyes were half lidded as she carried her rifle to the side of her bed. Placing it gently down like a child she made another trip for her armor and as if seeing Mark do it wasn't enough, she began to pile her armor in such an accurate and thorough way as well.

Tom also noticed that like the SPARTAN IIIs, the SPARTAN-IIs were also very pale from lack of sunlight, probably having spent more time in their armor than out. _Of course we did… _Tom thought, _We're SPARTANs, our home away from home is the battlefield…_ he sighed, lying down.

Halsey nodded in approval, turning to Mendez she said, "I leave them in your care for tonight, Mendez."

The senior chief nodded, "Just like old times, right ma'am?" he asked curtly. But he and Halsey shared a knowing smile as the doctor left.

"Night my SPARTANs." Halsey whispered as she left the room.

"Alright, lights out." Mendez said, flipping a switch and the lights died out.

After awhile Kelly spoke. "Anyone else feel underdressed?"

Fred and Linda gave a grunt of confirmation quietly from their beds beside Kelly's.

The SPARTAN IIIs shared a light-hearted chuckle at the expense of their fellow SPARTANs. "Lights. Out," Mendez growled. The room fell silent.

* * *

**End of chapter 2**

**Some SPARTAN humor, I don't know why, but Kelly seems like the misfit of the lot to me, so I decided to put some humor dialogue in it, now, thanks to everyone for the reviews, advice and feedback, I appreciate it.**

**I would also like to thank Star who beta'd this chapter for me, thanks a lot for your help and suggestions Star, I owe you big!**


	4. Contests and Rest

**In Infinitum**

**Chapter 3: Contests and Rest**

**2185, (Alliance Calendar) 0100 hours, **_**SSV Manila**_**-Science and Containment Room.**

Dr. Catherine Halsey sat in front of a computer console, her fingers moving nimbly across the 'keys' as lines of data and research skimmed across the screen.

Halsey spared a glance around the poorly lit room.

Only the light over the door and her own screen were keeping the room from falling into darkness. _Hmm…the advancements in technology are amazing… _she thought, scrolling through the items on Element Zero and it's various uses.

But she also noticed the way they had become complacent on this technology and the various historical events. "First Contact War?…" she mumbled upon seeing it and focusing on that particular subject.

Normally to her, war was something humans did a lot, but 'first contact' sounded eerily familiar.

"My God…" she breathed as her eyes continued to move over the lines of text as she learned and memorized the data, from the mass relays, the turians and the resulting war, and all the way up to the Citadel Council.

At the end of it all she leaned back in her chair, her eyes closed as she struggled to grasp all of the information. _Intelligent alien species that aren't on a religious campaign to commit genocide_, she thought, raising a hand to massage her temples relieve her building headache. "Looks like this humanity got off easy…" she muttered.

There was a knock on the door that caused Halsey to open her eyes and glance at the door. "Yes?!" she called.

"Uh…" an uncertain voice came through, "Dr. Halsey? Did I get that right?...the captain asked me if you needed anything…"

Halsey sighed, standing and making her way to the door and unlocking it. The door slid open to show a marine there, one she didn't meet yet. "More coffee would be good," she said while crossing her arms.

The marine, who she now knew as a private by the stripes on his left arm, gave her a salute. "At once ma'am!" He turned and walked quickly away.

Halsey sighed, deciding to leave the door open and return to her studying. _I feel like a college student again… _she thought wryly when she sat down and began to feel her headache soften as her fingers nimbly move over the keys again.

* * *

_**SSV Manila**_**-temporary SPARTAN barracks, 0100 hours.**

SPARTAN-058, Linda, was the first awake of the group.

Soundlessly she sat up with nothing but the shifting covers beneath her and everyone's soft breaths making noise, glancing around the darkened room her eyes adjusted quickly. _How long was I out?_ she thought.

Moving her legs over the side of the bed she glanced at the wall and saw her rifle placed exactly where it had been, and at the foot of her bed her armor also lay in perfect position. With a nod of satisfaction she stood and made her way across the room.

A movement made her stop, turning she saw another SPARTAN was awake, it was one of the S-IIIs. _Mark. _She thought recognizing him.

Mark was sitting up and eyeing her across the room, he tilted his head questionably to the side in a silent 'What's up?'

Linda gave a shrug.

He nodded, moving to the side of his bed, standing and moving to her bed and reached for her rifle. She felt a prick of possessiveness form in her, but ignored it as Mark picked it up as gently as she would then carried it to her, holding it out to her with a nod.

She glanced at it, took it and nodded gratefully, but also with some confusion.

"Think they have a firing range?" Mark asked now, his voice barely audible.

Linda quickly pieced together his idea. "They should, if this is a military vessel," she replied just as quietly. "I heard you're a marksman…" she added.

"I heard you're the best…" he replied. "I want to see if that's true." there was just the tiniest bit of challenge in his voice as he said his words.

Linda's lips formed into a small smile as she replied. "I am."

Mark smirked in return. "Let's find that firing range."

"Let's," Linda agreed with a nod.

They both exited the room and entered the halls of the ship, using their memories they quickly found their way to the elevator. Stepping inside the doors closed and they stood in silence.

Finally, Mark broke the peaceful silence, "I heard you SPARTAN IIs are legendary for your accuracy…" he said, glancing at her, she was a full foot or more taller than him, so he had to look up to meet her eyes. "You especially," he said, glancing at her rifle in appreciation of the weapon.

Linda felt a swell of pride at his words. "I'm just a bit better," she said modestly.

"You downed two targets so fast, a fellow SPARTAN couldn't tell which you had hit first," he said, smiling at her. "I wouldn't call that 'a bit' better."

Linda shrugged her shoulders slightly. "I guess."

Mark nodded, smile falling from his face as the elevator stopped and the doors opened. There stood four marines by the looks of their armor and ranks. _Three privates and a corporal, _thought Mark as he observed them. _Must have just gotten off duty_.

The four entered, giving the two odd glances.

The elevator started for several seconds then stopped and the doors opened, "Where's the firing range?" Mark asked as the four marines began to leave the elevator.

The corporal from before replied. "Next floor down, go straight for two halls and then right." The doors closed and Linda and Mark were alone in silence again.

* * *

_**SSV Manila**_**-temporary SPARTAN barracks, 0200 hours.**

Kelly yawned loudly as she awoke, sitting up and stretching her arms out. "Boy…" she said lying back down, "It feels good to get some R-and-R after narrowly dodging death so many times…" she said with a relaxed smile.

"Copy that…" Kelly sat up and saw several others were waking up due to her wake-up call of a yawn. "You're loud…" Tom muttered.

Kelly shrugged. "We had to get up sooner or later," she replied nonchalantly.

"Kelly…" Fred said, glaring at Linda's bed. "Where's Linda?"

Kelly turned to see Linda's empty bed.

"Mark's not here too," Tom said, his voice containing a hint of suspicion. "Think the Alliance has something to do with this?" he asked, glancing at Fred.

Fred shook his head, "No, they wouldn't kidnap two of us and then let us all stay free, plus they'd have to be quiet as air to get in here without us knowing."

He shook his head with a sigh. "Our two resident marksman are gone, I can only imagine where they'd be…"

"Firing range…" the others chorused.

Mendez shrugged. "Let them, Mark always blew off steam by firing a few rounds." he stated.

Fred shook his head. "Afraid not sir, with this…" he remembered Halsey's words to him, "reality, there might not be ammunition for our weapons. We can't allow them waste them on target practice." He stood, making for his armor with Kelly doing the same.

The SPARTAN-IIIs were all moving for their armor too, Mendez simply stood and left the room in search of Halsey.

* * *

_**SSV Manila**_**-Firing range, 0200 hours.**

Linda and Mark had found the firing range with the corporals' directions.

Inside were a rack of weapons and little cylinders that were, after conversing with a nearby marine, apparently the magazines of these weapons.

"You two look like you're with military, but you've never seen thermal clips?" the weapons sergeant asked the pair incredulously.

Linda nodded, "Yes sir."

"We've been trained in these weapons, sir," Mark said, indicating Linda's SRS rifle.

The sergeant held his hands out, eyeing the weapon with a critical eye. "May I see it?" he asked calmly as he held his hands out.

Linda nodded, handing the rifle over to him.

As soon the rifle was dropped into his hand the sergeant grunted as the weight of the weapon caught him off guard. _Who the hell makes weapons this heavy anymore? h_e thought, examining it. "Where's the thermal clip?"

Mark raised a brow at the man. "There is none, pull back the bolt." he replied.

_The bolt? _The sergeant thought with confusion, looking over the rifle and finding the bolt he was talking about, pulling it back he was surprised when an actual round popped out from the chamber. "This thing uses gun power rounds?" he asked.

Linda nodded, but felt her annoyance spike when he said it as if her rifle was inadequate to be used on a battlefield. Especially when that rifle had downed more hostiles then most other marksman teams. "Yes. If you want, you can take a shot with it," she replied, eager to see how the marine reacted to the kick back that SPARTAN IIs had to take care to control.

The sergeant nodded, taking the rifle over to target range. "Clear station!" he ordered seeing some marines already there. Upon the order they cleared to the side though.

The sergeant lowered himself and the rifle down to the table.

He extended the bipod and put his eye through the scope. "Hmm…this scope seems good," he said, "Range finder too." he added, then pulled the trigger.

There was the loudest bang the sergeant had ever heard, like a grenade went off down the range and his shoulder stung and the round missed the target. It instead buried itself in the wall behind the target.

The steel was dented where the round impacted with such force.

"Holy shit…" one marine said, which summed up all their thoughts.

Mark rolled his eyes. _You'd think they'd never fired a ballistic weapon before_, he thought.

Linda walked over as the sergeant shifted and moved his shoulder to try and get the pain to die down a bit.

Retrieving her prized rifle she took her spot beside Mark again. "This is a SRS99D-S2, Anti-Material rifle," she said. "It fires a 14.5x114mm Armor Piercing, Fin Stabilized, Discarding Sabot round and as you've now seen and felt, it packs a bit of a kick."

"A 'bit'?" the sergeant replied with sarcasm. "Felt like someone punched me."

"It does that the first time you fire it," Mark said with a nod. "You get used to it."

"We'd like to try some of your rifles, if you have any," Linda said, glancing to the gun rack near the entrance of the range.

The sergeant nodded, retrieving what looked like two SMG weapons. When Linda and Mark took them and the weapons extended into longer weapons that now looked for more rifle then small arm they were surprised.

The sergeant quickly explained how to use them, ejecting thermal clips and adding new ones, how their scopes worked and the way weapons would react with continued fire. Finally at the end of the explanation Linda and Mark were at the range.

"Here are the rules…" the sergeant called. "Twenty-three targets will pop up, whoever hit's the twenty-third target, wins, but you have to have to hit the other targets on your side as well. Now…" he raised his voice. "Three!"

Linda and Mark steadied their arms and breathing.

"Two!"

Their grips tightened and they laid their fingers over the triggers.

"One!"

They each held their breath and closed an eye leaving only the eye in the scope.

A target popped up and a shot rang out. Soon another and then another, each was followed with more shooting as the crowd watched in stunned silence as the barrels of the rifles moved in near blurs as they moved from target to target as they popped up near instantly, a testament to the reaction times and reflexes of the shooters.

_She's good, _Mark thought as he fired his ninth shot_._

Linda was also having her own thoughts, having just reached her tenth shot. _The kid's got talent, definitely a SPARTAN_, she thought proudly._ But I'm _not _going to lose._

Finally, the twenty-third target appeared. Mark and Linda levelled their rifles and fired.

A shot connected with it, knocking it over, another hit the wall behind it and the contest was over with an amazed silence.

Mark lifted his head from the scope, staring at it in surprise. "I missed…" he said.

Linda followed suit, her shot had connected first and she was feeling great, having not been able to fire any sort of weapon for an unknown amount of time. Standing and turning to Mark she said, "You did good."

Mark stood too, ejecting the thermal clip from the rifle and nodding to her. "You were still better, I'm glad to have had this chance," he said smiling and offering his hand in a shake.

Linda smiled and took his hand and gave it a firm shake.

The audience all clapped for them, having never seen such skills before. "Are you two even human?" one asked jokingly as he shook his head. "That was some fast shooting."

Linda and Mark again shared a glance again deciding not to answer his rhetorical question.

"There you two are."

Mark and Linda turned to see Fred, Kelly and the other SPARTANs in full armor walking into the room. "We knew you'd two would be here," Fred added.

Linda nodded in greeting.

Mark saluted. "Sir! Sorry for disappearing, we didn't want to wake you," he explained.

Fred shook his head. "It's fine, I'm just-" he stopped when alarms began to sounds across the ship.

"Attention! All fire teams report to barracks and gear up! We have two confirmed batarian pirate ships on a intercept course! I repeat! Two enemy ships incoming!" the communications offer's voice played through the intercoms.

"Should we offer our help?" Kelly asked.

"We might as well," Fred replied easily. "Besides, I think we all need the refresher course."

Every SPARTAN, aside from Lind and Mark, winked green on Fred's HUD.

* * *

**End of chapter 3**

**There's chapter 3, and yes. Next chapter is going to be some gun shooting, neck snapping and a little bit of spacing action. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter and now if you'll all review, they give me a push to rush.**

**Thank you to all those who reviewed as well, I appreciate them.**

**This chapter was beta'd by Star, thanks a lot Star, I owe you more.**


	5. First contact

**In Infinitum**

**Chapter 4: First Contact**

**SSV **_**Manila**_**-Bridge-0400 hours**

Jake sat as he watched the opposing batarian ships moved in opposite directions to the left and right of the Alliance vessel. "What do we have?" he asked an ensign over the buzz of the entire bridge crew.

"Captain, they appear to be two frigates, each is armed with a few missile silos and GARDIAN lasers, nothing much beyond that," he replied. "Looks like they're not planning to run either,"

Jake stroked his chin in thought. "Alright, they're splitting up, damn…" he trailed off.

"Sir! Incoming smaller contacts! Boarding craft!" another ensign reported from his station.

"Stop them!" ordered Jake.

"Too late, they've hacked the hanger doors!"

Jake was about to reply when the doors to the bridge opened and the SPARTAN IIIs walked in, headed by the hulking SPARTAN IIs with Dr. Halsey and Mendez. "This is a combat scenario, please lea-"

Halsey held up her hand. "We know, that's why we're here, my SPARTANs wish to help you and your crew."

Jake turned to her, thinking it over quickly. "Alright, arm up and report to the hanger, we have boarders. Keep them busy till we can destroy their friends," he ordered.

Halsey nodded, turning to her SPARTAN she said. "Fred, this op belongs to you," she said.

Fred nodded. "Kelly, take Ash and Olivia."

Kelly nodded with both SPARTAN IIIs taking her sides.

"Linda," Fred turned to the marksman. "You're taking Mark."

Linda nodded and Mark took his place at her side, generally pleased to be paired with her.

Fred turned to Tom and Lucy. "You're both with me, Kelly, you're blue two, Linda, blue three."

They all nodded and went back to the elevator, got in and the doors closed.

"Are you sure they're up to this, Dr. Halsey?" Jake asked curiously when the SPARTANs had gone.

Halsey chuckled, shaking her head. "I assure you captain, they're more than 'up' to this, the following events will astound you," she replied with a wry smile.

Mendez smirked beside her.

* * *

**SSV **_**Manila**_**-Main hanger-0400 hours**

Batarian pirates dropped from the shuttles, firing their assortment of weapons from pistols to grenade launchers. The crew of the Alliance vessel held their ground, using crates and small loading vehicles as cover. "Keep them in the hanger!" a worker yelled as he brandished a pistol.

"Take these Alliance dogs down!" one batarian cheered as he and his fellow pirates charged forward with their weapons blazing.

The hanger crews were overwhelmed in no time as seemingly infinite number of pirates and varren, "Captain! We can't hold 'em! We're-" the worker got no further as he was tackled by a varren from behind.

As the pirates entered the halls, a group of five were headed for the elevator. "Fall in behind me!" one commanded as the elevator stopped at their deck.

The pirates lifted their weapons and the door slid.

The next few seconds went by in a blur, a green figure rushed forward and rammed into the first of the group like a linebacker and carried their leader down the hall where his screams died on impact with a loud crunch.

The four remaining pirates turned back to fire, the two who were originally in front behind the leader however felt large cold hands grip their necks and lift them into the air, robbing them of oxygen as the dropped their weapons to the deck and tried in vain to remove the vice grip.

At the clattering of weapon the two remaining pirates turned around and instantly wished they hadn't.

In front of them was the largest thing they'd ever seen, it was easily as big as a geth prime! Green scarred armor with a shining, but also menacing, orange visor that stared down at them as if it weren't holding two adult batarian by their necks a good foot off the ground like toys.

"Fire!" one cried as they both raised their weapons and were mowed down by several bursts of fire from the elevator.

* * *

**SSV **_**Manila**_**-Main hanger deck 4-0400 hours**

Linda and Mark sat three levels above in the hanger, watching the pirates through their scopes, Linda holding her SRS rifle while Mark was using a Viper. "Target count?" Mark said into his private com to Linda.

"I count twenty five," she replied calmly. "Maybe more in the shuttles."

"Confirmed, I counted twenty five too," Mark said with a bare hint of pride. "Fred, orders?"

"_Do you have visual?_"

Mark winked green.

"_Wait for my and Blue two's signals,_" Mark was about open his mouth. "_Trust me, you'll know when you see them._"

Mark and Linda winked green.

* * *

**SSV **_**Manila**_**-Main hanger deck 1-0400 hours**

Fred released the bodies and let them fall to the ground. "Kelly, I didn't think you'd be so eager to leave the elevator," he said with some amusement as he picked up an Avenger assault rifle.

That done Kelly picked up her own weapon, Linda and Mark having explained to them the essence of thermal clips, and nodded to Fred. "What can I say? I like the stairs better," she shrugged.

Fred nodded. "Alright, this is where we split up…" he turned to the elevator, four SPARTAN IIIs piled out and assembled by the SPARTAN IIs quickly. "Alright Blue two, you know the plan, signal when set."

Kelly nodded, turning to Ash and Olivia. "Alright, let's go." The three moved down the other hall away from the hanger.

Fred turned to Tom and Lucy. "We hold here for now, grab their weapons."

Tom and Lucy retrieved the two Avengers from the dead pirates, inspecting them quickly and then nodding to Fred. "Alright…take positions."

The three moved down the hall and trained their weapons on the doors to the hanger in case more pirates came through. "Blue one, in position," Fred said.

* * *

**With Blue Two**

Kelly heard the sounds of gunfire as she, Ash and Olivia moved through another hall.

the doors opened and out ran three technicians yelling for help. Seeing the SPARTANs they paused.

Kelly noticed several pirates coming up behind them. "Get down!" she barked, raising her weapon and firing as the three hit the deck.

The group of pirates was caught in the fire, one was killed while another was injured. Kelly tapped the trigger, finishing him off with a single shot as she slowly advanced on the doorway they were taking cover behind. "Ash, Olivia, move up and stay behind me."

They both winked green and moved behind the larger SPARTAN.

Kelly fired a small burst as one pirate tried to return fire. The batarian's head exploded in a mess of gore as the rounds tore through his skull to fall to the floor in a heap, with a small grunt Kelly rushed forward and turned, raising her fist and punching the other batarian who was staring at her with a mix of shock and horror before she smeared his brains over the wall with the force of her punch.

Glancing around with her weapon Kelly said, "Take their weapons and prepare to take the main hanger."

Ash and Olivia moved up, quickly grabbing the Avenger assault rifle and the Scimitar shotgun.

Ash flicked a piece of brain matter off the grip of his Avenger with little interest before shouldering it and nodding to Olivia.

* * *

**SSV **_**Manila**_**-Bridge-0400 hours**

"My God…" breathed Jake as he watched Fred and Kelly take out the first group, and Kelly's handling of the second and Mark and Linda's stealthy infiltration on the monitors.

Halsey let a smile onto her face. "Impressive, aren't they? Years of genetic research and testing, plus the hardening of war make my SPARTANs the ultimate super soldier," she explained easily.

Mendez merely watched them, his eyes near sparkling with pride. _Seems like so long ago I was training them_, he thought.

"They're…no way your SPARTANs are human, Dr. Halsey…" Jake said, turning to the mother of SPARTANs. "The large ones, how can they be so…fast and strong?" he asked.

"That's a SPARTAN secret that I may or may not decide to disclose, Captain," Halsey replied curtly. "Simply be happy they are on your side and aiding you."

Jake nodded, continuing to watch the monitors as two more pirates were gunned down by Fred and his team.

* * *

**SSV **_**Manila**_**-Main hanger deck 1-0400 hours**

Fred nodded to his SPARTAN IIIs and then opened a channel to Kelly. "We're set, you?"

"_Yeah, we're green here_."

Fred nodded, then comm'd Linda. "Sniper team, status?"

"_Targets picked and green to go on your mark_."

Fred nodded to his SPARTANs. "Breach!"

The hanger broke out into the chaos when two pirates dropped to the ground with their heads half gone from the sniper rounds, their shots echoing as Linda and Mark began to pick off the pirates at an alarming pace. "Return fire!" one yelled, pointing to the snipers.

Then the two hanger doors opened and out rushed the six other SPARTANS, their various weapons firing with deadly accuracy. Kelly didn't flinch when her shields flickered, instead she quickly focused on her attacker and downed him with her reflexes.

"Get those damn snipers!" one yelled but was silenced as Linda picked him off.

Tom kept at Lucy's side. Raising his assault rifle he picked off a pirate who was aiming for her, turning he was met with a large varren lunging at him, tackling him to the ground.

The animal hissed and growled as it tried to sink its teeth into Tom's neck.

The SPARTAN III barely registered the fact.

The varren yelped before it collapsed on top of him, a combat knife stuck into its neck. Glancing in the direction the knife pointed at he saw Lucy firing at several pirates and her sheath was empty.

_I owe her one, _he thought tossing the varren off him and standing and moving beside her to help blanket some batarians with fire. "Thanks," he said, receiving the briefest of nods.

Linda and Mark tracked the same batarian and fired, killing the enemy.

The SPARTANs continued to return fire with deadly accuracy as the pirates continued to try and hold their ground against the super soldiers. Fred lifted a fist into the air and all the SPARTANs burst from their cover and charged the pirates' lines, their weapons blazing as heads exploded due to Linda and Mark's shooting.

"Shit! We gotta surrender!" one panicked, throwing his weapon aside and raised his hands over his head and stepping out of cover. But was greeted by Fred and Lucy's assault rifle.

The pirates soon realized that surrender was no longer an option.

"Suppressing fire!" Fred said into the com as he pulled two grenades from his waist, flicking their pins off he expertly tossed them over the crates the pirates used as cover.

There was a brief cry before it was drowned out by the explosion of the grenades. "Status?" Fred called into the com.

Green lights greeted him.

* * *

**SSV **_**Manila**_**-Bridge-0400 hours**

"What was that? They just gunned down an enemy who was trying to surrender!" Jake rounded on Halsey, slightly surprised to see her and Mendez watching with equal expressions of calmness. "Does that even bother you two?"

Halsey shook her head. "Truthfully, no," she replied. "My SPARTANs have been fighting genocidal alien races for a long time, they developed their reflexes to the point that anything that is not human is an automatic threat and should be eliminated."

Mendez nodded beside her. "I would have done the same thing myself," he said calmly. "I trained them to be the best and they are the best."

"At being heartless killers…" Jake hissed, glaring at them. "What's the point in being good if you sacrifice your humanity for it?"

"What's the point in being human when your species is pushed to the brink of extinction in a war where there is no surrender?" Halsey replied, though the words Jake spoke with made her feel the regret of the truth that she had robbed her SPARTANs of their humanity and made them little more than killing machines with the odd quirks.

Jake didn't reply, instead opened a com. "Good work…SPARTANs," he said grudgingly. "Return to the bridge for debriefing."

* * *

**SSV **_**Manila**_**-Main hanger deck 1-0400 hours**

Fred nodded. "Alright SPARTANs, fall in," when he knew that he had their full attention he said. "We're returning to the bridge." He turned and left, hearing the footsteps of his team behind him.

Each was lost in their own thoughts about the battle and about how it almost felt good to be back in the fight, to fire a weapon and be shot at.

And for some reason, that didn't bother him, that it felt good to be in the action.

"Anyone else thinking that it was a bit…fun to be shooting and being shot at again?" Kelly's question got a round of agreement nods.

Linda and Mark retracted their rifles and stood. Giving each other a nod they turned and began to walk away. "Who hit the last target?"

Linda glanced at the corner of her eyes. "We both did."

Mark's helmet hid his smile. "Agreed."

The SPARTANs were each returning to the elevator and to the bridge for their debriefing, leaving the workers to clean up the mess in the hanger.

**End of chapter 4**

**Sorry for the long update time, I kept rewriting this chapter over and over, till finally this is the end product, hope it was worth the wait. till next one, this one won't take too long hopefully.**


	6. Meeting Shepard

**In Infinitum**

**Chapter 5: Meeting Shepard **

_**Normandy**_**-Bridge-0600 Hours**

"We're approaching the _SSV Manila_ now, Commander" Joker's voice played through the com of John Shepard's helmet, the N7 Commando cracked his neck. "Hailing them now."

"Good work Joker…" Shepard said and turned to his team, Miranda, Jacob, Tali, Garrus, Grunt, Legion, Jack and Mordin. "Alright team…" he instantly had their attention. "As you know, the remnants of the Collectors have all but disappeared without a trace."

"And those that do show up are not on the talkative side," Miranda said from her spot.

"Yes," Shepard nodded. "Now, the Illusive Man himself is trying to find out where it all fits in, needless to say he's been less than helpful considering we blew up the Collector station."

Garrus scoffed. "A little? His last piece of intel was a dead end…"

"What about the Council? Have they been able to help us?" Tali asked now, staring at Shepard intently.

"No, the Council is too busy trying to cover up my revival and connections with Cerberus to really a lift a finger off their pencil pushing asses," Shepard replied bitterly. "Not like they were ever helpful against the Reapers or Collectors."

There was a round of agreeing nods. "So why the stop on the _SSV Manila_?" Garrus asked.

"The Illusive Man intercepted a transmission from it, they reported a…phenomenon in their science lab, the Illusive Man wants us to check it out," Shepard replied to the turian. "He thinks it would be in our best interests."

Miranda nodded. "I can vouch for the Illusive Man, if he thinks it can help us, it will."

"It's Shepard's call, Miranda," Jacob cut in.

"I know, I was giving my opinion."

"And it's a valuable opinion, Miranda," Shepard said calmly. "But can it wait till after the briefing? I wanna finish this before-"

"We're cleared to dock Commander, Hammerhead is set!" Joker's voice again.

Shepard groaned and shook his head. "Spoke too soon…Grunt, Miranda and Garrus, you're with me in the Hammerhead, the rest of you, stay on stand by."

"Sir!"

* * *

**SSV **_**Manila**_**-SPARTAN Barracks-0600 Hours**

The SPARTANs sat silent in their barracks with each doing their own things, some of them in pairs.

Linda and Mark were conversing about their 'longest' shots during their battles.

Tom and Lucy were staying at Fred's side, who was engaged in a chess game with Ash.

Olivia and Kelly were simply chatting about random subjects, mostly weapons and certain Covenant experiences.

"What do you think Dr. Halsey is talking with the captain about?" Olivia asked the question they all had on their minds despite their various activities.

"Probably what to do with us," Fred replied, moving a knight to take Ash's rook. "Check."

Ash frowned in concentration. "And mate…" he tipped his king over and sighed. "Again?"

Fred nodded.

"What's to be done? With our combat record from one fight, I say we're about set to join their military forces and get to work doing our original purpose," Kelly said her two cents.

"Stopping insurgents?" Linda raised her head. "And what about getting back home? To our…dimension?"

The SPARTANs fell silent again, their thoughts stirring on the question. "Well…of course we will find a way home, we still have to defeat the Covenant, right?" Kelly spoke again.

"And we can't let John have all the fun." Fred added.

The other SPARTANs nodded. "And what if we can't find a way home?" Olivia asked now. Which caused another bout of silence.

"We're SPARTANs…we'll find a way."

"Would be easier if we had John," Kelly muttered. "He got out of everything."

"_Attention SPARTANs! Report to the bridge double time!"_ came a voice through the intercoms.

Fred stood, quickly moving a knight and glancing towards his armor, which the S-IIs had removed. "Let's go SPARTANs." He raised a brow as he saw Kelly trying to gather her armor. "Sorry to say…we don't have time to armor up."

Kelly looked down at her SPARTAN helmet and then back up to Fred.

"Not even the helmets, let's go!" Fred took a steady jog out the room, followed by the others.

The SPARTANs without their armor were fairly normal looking, except the paleness of their skin, the abnormal height of the S-IIs and the younger age of the S-IIIs gave them away.

"Gah! Elevators…"

"Live with it Kelly, we all do…"

(I just _**LOVE **_bashing the elevators. =D)

* * *

**SSV **_**Manila**_**-Bridge-0600 hours**

Captain Jake and Halsey stood side by side as they observed the data moving across their screen.

"So this Commander Shepard is an impressive military figure who has a record for surviving everything from a Thresher Maw surprise attack to even dying?" Halsey asked, the picture of said Spectre on the view screen.

"Yes, unbelievable I know-"

"Not as unbelievable as you think Captain," Halsey smiled, briefly remembering John's achievements in the war. "But that is besides the point, what does this Commander Shepard want here?"

Captain Jake shrugged. "I don't know, Shepard doesn't work closely with the Alliance, seeing as he's a Spectre he's under the command of the Citadel Council directly," he explained.

"Commander Shepard is asking to come aboard with a small team, sir!" an ensign called.

"Let the commander aboard, send a team down to greet him too," Jake replied with a wave of his hand.

The ensign nodded.

"Sir! Commander Shepard is being escorted to the bridge, he has a krogan, woman and turian with him," a crew member called.

Jake sighed. "Alright, let's see how this goes…" he crossed his arms behind his back and waited for the Commander to enter the bridge.

In five minutes the doors to the bridge opened again and in walked Commander John Shepard, the skin on his face pale, focused green eyes and a strong face with a scar over the left eye. "Thank you for allowing me on board Captain." Shepard's voice commanded respect.

"It's always an honor to have you aboard Commander, what can we do for you?" Jake asked politely.

"I heard you some interesting new additions to the ship," Shepard replied, crossing his arms and raising a brow.

"How-"

"Cerberus, anything that happens worth knowing, they know it," Shepard replied, he hated to admit it, but the Illusive Man was always well connected with every major organization, more so with the Alliance. "So, I want to meet them."

The doors opened again and Shepard's team entered, the ever imposing Grunt held his krogan shotgun close, the beautiful Miranda strolled in with a confident, almost smug, walk and the dead eye sniper Garrus, they were Shepard's elite.

"Well Commander, they're on their way up as we speak, shouldn't be too long," Jake glanced at the door and nodded. "They're here."

The doors opened and the SPARTANs ran inside, then froze when they saw Grunt and Garrus.

Shepard opened his mouth.

All hell broke loose.

Kelly rushed forward towards Grunt, who in turn raised his shotgun and tried to fire off a shot, a blast sounded out before Kelly sidestepped the shot, which embedded themselves into the wall behind her, narrowly missing Lucy as she and Tom moved towards Garrus.

Kelly almost lazily ducked the attempted punch by the large krogan, going into a crouch and sweeping his legs out from under him, much to Shepard's surprise, before the krogan could even hit the ground she grabbed his shotgun and twisted it from his grasp and when Grunt hit the floor his own weapon was in his face.

Garrus quickly sighted Kelly through his Viper sniper and tried to squeeze a round off into the her shoulder, as his talon closed on the trigger another hand pushed the rifle to the side, making the shot hit the wall just beside Kelly, turning his head he saw Tom had pushed his weapon way, then there was a sharp pain in the back of his head before the world dark as Lucy smashed her elbow in the back of his skull.

Miranda moved to try and suspend the attackers in fields, her body flared with blue fire and she turned towards Tom and Lucy with her arms raised to call on her biotics, but two firm hands gripped her wrists, glancing left she saw Linda and to her right was Fred. "Wha-" her feet were swept from under her and she fell forward onto the floor, landing with a grunt as her arms were quickly pulled behind her and she was pinned with a knee on her back.

Everyone was still, except for Grunt's breathing as his eyes moved from his shotgun to Kelly, then back to his shotgun. "Damn…" He said in approval.

"Spartans! Stand down!" Jake called, getting out from his stupor at how quickly the events had changed.

The SPARTANs hesitated a moment before reluctantly stepping off and back their respective downs, except Garrus who was out like a light.

Shepard moved forward to the unconscious turian, kneeling and patting him on the shoulder lightly and received a groan. "Well, he's alive…" he stood and turned to the SPARTANs. "What was that?" he crossed his arms, thinking the situation was now under control

"They're aliens, what are they doing on a-"

Ash's words were interrupted as Halsey spoke now. "That's enough, there is no excuse…" she shook her head and turned to Jake. "I'm sorry, I should have seen this coming, they're…not used to non humans."

Shepard scoffed. "I couldn't tell…" he turned to Miranda, who was standing and nursing her wrists. "Miranda, Grunt." he said. "Take Garrus back to the _Normandy_."

The SPARTANs watched as the two aliens and strange human left the bridge, but not before Grunt angrily took his shotgun back from Kelly.

Silence engulfed the bridge for a few moments as Shepard sized up the SPARTANs and the SPARTANs watched him.

"So, what are you? No human can move that fast." _except me of course. _Shepard asked.

Dr. Halsey put a fist to her mouth. "Ahem," everyone's attention was on her. "Those, Commander Shepard, are my Spartans."

"Spartans?" Shepard raised a brow and turned to the doctor.

"Yes," Halsey nodded. "Spartans, super soldiers trained to fight from a very young age." she explained simply, deciding that going into details was pointless.

"How can they-"

"Genetic augmentation." Halsey replied quickly.

Shepard frowned at being interrupted, but didn't comment. "Alright Dr. Halsey," he said. "I would like an explanation on why your Spartans are…uncomfortable…around aliens." he said seriously.

"Alright Commander, but you're going to need to keep an open mind during my explanation." Halsey replied curtly, walking over to the doors. "Come, we're going to my office, I need some coffee."

Shepard followed after her, leaving the bridge crew and the SPARTANs alone in silence.

Fred broke the silence when he turned to Jake and said, "Orders?"

Jake shook his head. "After reviewing your combat data from the boarding party's incident awhile ago, I sent it to the higher-ups of the Alliance military…" Jake's calm expressing turned into a welcoming smile. "And after discussing it with Catherine, I am pleased to say that you've been offered to join the Alliance unofficially as a special forces group, as that seems more your style."

The SPARTANs reactions were hidden behind their serene expressions, but Mendez could see the relief flash through their eyes at the thought of joining the military again.

It was Fred who spoke next. "Sir! Thank you sir!"

"Don't thank me SPARTAN, you and the others proved yourselves against the pirates, though one alive for questioning would have been nice." Jake said.

Fred saluted. "Sir! We'll keep that in mind, sir." He dropped his salute.

Jake nodded. "Alright, return to your barracks, we'll call with further updates on your new Alliance positions soon enough."

Mendez, who had been standing beside Jake and Halsey through the whole ordeal moved to exit the bridge. "I'm returning to my quarters," he said simply and left, the other SPARTANs following after him to returned to their barracks.

The SPARTANs were so excited they didn't let the elevators drop their spirits as they thought and wondered about their new assigning.

**End of chapter 6**

**There it is, hope I didn't disappoint...if I did, feel free to review and tell me how.  
**


	7. Explanations

**In Infinitum**

**Chapter 6: Explanations**

**SSV **_**Manila**_**-Halsey's office-1300 hours**

"And that, Commander Shepard, is our story." Halsey said as she placed her cup of coffee down on her desk, Shepard sat across from her.

His expression would have been funny had it not been for Halsey's overall annoyance at having to explain the Human-Covenant war, her SPARTANs and her involvement in the events at Onyx.

"Halsey…you expect me to believe this?" Shepard asked with a raising of his brow.

"Do I have a reason to lie and make myself seem utterly insane?" Was her smooth reply.

Shepard stayed silent for a few seconds, his eyes flashing with thought. "Point taken, Dr. Halsey, but the question now is…" he looked up to her. "What are your plans here in our humble universe where alien versus humans never happens?" _mostly… _he thought.

"Well…" Halsey paused. "First I'm going to make sure my SPARTANs understand that shooting first here will not get them far, second is to integrate them into the Alliance military."

Shepard raised a brow. "No trying to find a way back?" he asked, curious;

"No, going back would mean certain death for my SPARTANs," Halsey shook her head. "We'll start over here, where they will likely be safer," she explained softly, memories of the SPARTANs she'd lost ran across her mind. "Too many have died already for nothing."

Shepard could understand the feeling of losing comrades, Akuze flashed through his own memories and he shook his head. "Well, if that's your plan I can hardly question it," he said, glancing to the side. "I do however wonder if you would _lend_ me two of the SPARTANs for my team."

Halsey's only hint at the surprise she felt by such a bold offer was the gentle raising of her brow. "And why would you need my SPARTANs?" she asked curiously with just a hint of suspicion.

Shepard sighed softly and closed his eyes. "Alright, but try to keep an open mind about what I'm going to tell you," he replied calmly, opening his eyes again to give Halsey a firm stare. "And pay _very _close attention."

Halsey took a sip of her coffee and waited.

"It all started two years ago on a routine shake down run…" And so Shepard dove into the beginning of his incredible tale.

* * *

**SSV **_**Manila**_**-SPARTAN barracks, 1300 hours.**

The SPARTANs were back to their various activities within their temporary barracks with each lost in their own thoughts on what had transpired in the bridge.

"Anyone else find it…_disturbing_ that we were ordered not to kill the aliens?" Kelly asked from her bed, laying back and staring at the ceiling with a thoughtful expression on her face.

Fred had to agree with her. "Yeah…it was," he said, moving his queen on the chess board. "Check."

Ash, who was across from Fred, nodded. "I guess the universe…or dimension, we're in is very different from ours…did you see that large alien? It was like as big as an elite, looked stronger too." he paused and sighed, tipping his king. "Checkmate."

"Heavy too," Kelly said. "I had to really put some force into that sweep," she stated with a frown. "And it's grip was strong, I almost couldn't get it's weapon."

Fred ran this information through his mind as he reset the board for another game. "Well, I suppose we should be grateful they're not shooting at us." he reasoned, waiting for Ash to move.

Ash did move, shaking his head as he ran a hand over his hair to his neck. "Yeah…we should, but it's still new…"

Of course every SPARTAN agreed it was a new concept, once that they didn't really think about since it was about as likely as John losing at dice rolling, which he never did, so the idea of friendly aliens really couldn't fit too well with them.

"Check," Ash mumbled.

Fred frowned and moved again. "Check."

Ash sighed and tipped his king. "Checkmate," he grumbled sourly.

Fred opened his mouth.

"Again," Ash said before Fred could ask, clearly he was getting irked at the constant losses and so the two leaders dove back into their game.

Linda and Mark were both at the end of the room, seeming in some quiet conversation with the other, occasionally Linda's shoulder would rise in a shrug or Mark's.

"What do you think they're talking about now?" Kelly asked from her bed, sitting up and glancing over at the duo of sniping.

"I don't know…Linda and Mark were both quiet from what I've seen," Fred replied simply, his eyes on the board as he thought. "Ask em?"

"Hey Mark, Linda, care to share with the rest of the class?" Kelly asked, still sitting up and now giving the snipers her full attention.

The two snipers seemed to stop their quiet conversation and glance to the fastest SPARTAN with two pairs of eyes. "Yeah?" Mark replied for them both.

"What are you two talking about?" Kelly asked again, a little annoyed they hadn't heard the question.

"Oh, nothing, nothing…" Mark shrugged it off along with Linda.

"_Spartans, we've arrived at Arcturus station, prepare to disembark_!"

* * *

**Arcturus Station-Admiral Hakett's office, 1500 hours**

Admiral Hackett stood before the SPARTANs with arms crossed behind his back as he observed them, Mendez and Halsey with a calm piercing gaze. "Spartans, Mendez and Dr. Halsey, I'm pleased to make your acquaintance," he nodded to each briefly.

"Admiral!" the Spartans all broke into salutes, each was dressed in their SPI armor and MJOLNIR suits, making the S-IIs appear to be machines while the S-IIIs age was hidden from the rest of them.

Admiral Hackett returned their salutes easily. "At ease, Spartans."

"Admiral, I'm pleased you allowed this meeting." Halsey said with a nod as she fixed her plaid skirt. "I trust Jake has informed you of our unique situation?"

"He has," Hackett nodded. "I must say, Dr. Halsey, your story has some of the best alliance minds boggled, but considering your Spartan performance and the look of you all, I'd be hard pressed not to believe you…" the admiral paused and once over'd the group again and said. "I trust your Spartans want to get back into the service of humanity?"

"Yes, very much so, at least until we find a way back," Halsey replied easily, though she was lying. Why would they go back to a war that they were destined to lose? She wouldn't condemn her Spartans to that fate.

"Very good, now, onto their placement and new ranks within the military…" Hackett said as he turned to the SPARTANs. "But before that, I have an assignment for them, a test run, if you will."

The Spartans shared a smile beneath their various visors as Hakett sat down behind his desk.

"And what assignment is that?" Halsey asked calmly, but with a dash of curiosity.

Hackett shook his head. "Well, we've recently come across a small Batarian pirate base on a asteroid and I think this presents your Spartans a grand opportunity to further prove their skills to us." He raised a brow. "Are they up to it?"

Halsey's lips twitched. "More then up to is, sir."

"Alright, Spartans," Hackett addressed the super soldiers. "Move out, a dropship has been prepped."

All the Spartan saluted in perfect synch and then shuffled out the Admirals office where a Private was waiting for them, with a shaky salute the man lead the Spartans towards the hangers.

This left Mendez and Halsey alone with the Admiral.

"Now, Halsey, Some of their armor looks to be in a bit of a disrepair situation," Hackett said while leaning back in his seat, face still calm as glass. "I've agreed to give you access to some baser resources, not everything, I believe you, but not all the Alliance does."

Halsey nodded in understanding, truthfully, she thought it was too easy already.

"That said, I hope you have what you need to repair their armor here, and if you can…" the Admiral left the words in the air.

"Manufacture some more?" Halsey shook her head and sighed softly. "The MJOLNIR armor system requires the user to have strength and reaction times much faster than the average soldier, anything less and the soldier will be killed by his own spasms…"

Admiral nodded, accepting the answer. "What about the other armor suits?"

"I will need to run some tests on those, I never created them so I don't know their exact design, but I'll get back to you on that, Admiral," Halsey replied without missing a beat, she knew the Admiral's game. The SPI and MJOLNIR suits were extremely powerful in their own rights and from what she had read, the Alliance didn't have any active stealth tech available to it's soldiers.

"Alright, Doctor, That'll be all, Mendez, congratulations…" The admiral held out his hand and inside was a medal. "On your new position as Operations Chief within the Alliance Military and commander of the Spartan forces," Hackett flashed the war veteran a small nod of encouragement.

Mendez stepped forward and like Hackett, his face was unreadable, but Halsey saw it in his eyes that emotions were flashing inside him.

Hand gently taking the medal he nodded to Hackett and replied with a salute. "Sir! Thank you, sir!" he dropped the salute and then asked the most important question of the time. "Where do I start?"

"By escorting Dr. Halsey to her new office and living quarters, then you can move into yours and get some R-an-R."

"Sir!" Mendez saluted like the soldier he was and turned to Halsey, then gesturing to the door he said. "Doctor."

Halsey smiled and nodded, turning and making for the door.

Oh yes, this universe was better than hers, but now after the operation she needed to make two choices.

Who was she going to send with Shepard?

**

* * *

**

**End of Chapter 6**

**This took way too long to update, I am sorry my various readers, and so short! Well don't worry, expect the next chapter up by, oh, tomorrow, or the day after.**


	8. Asteroid Assault

**In Infinitum**

**Chapter 7: Asteroid Assault**

**SSV Warpig-0800 hours-SPARTAN barracks.**

Fred sheathed his combat knife and glanced around at his team. Tom and Lucy were seated next to the other with Lucy adjusting one of Tom's shoulder plates, gaze drifted to Mark and Linda, the two were cleaning were checking over their new Viper rifles.

Ash and Olivia were both sitting in full gear and apparently fascinated by the idea that their new Avenger Assault rifles had unlimited firing capability but Fred was extremely annoyed at the fact this era didn't have suppressors.

That would have to change.

Fred unsheathed his knife again and tossed it into the air carelessly, letting swirl, fall and finally land back in his armoured hand grip first as it always did and he sheathed it again in one fluid motion.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Kelly fully armoured again and apparently glad to be as she raised her hand, put her thumb and finger where her mouth would be and performed the Spartan smile.

Fred raised his hand and returned the gesture.

It was times like this leader of Spartan Blue team treasured, these moments of calm before the storm that he knew he was being sent into would likely be the last time he would see his team at ease like this.

"Sir," Fred left his thoughts and turned to the door where a military private stood, looking at the Spartans in awe, fear and trepidation. "We're approaching the asteroid, Landing zone in two minutes."

"Alright, thanks private, dismissed," despite his lack of familiarity with the universe, Fred was grateful this Alliance military acted the same as the UNSC. Standing he said over the coms. "Alright Blue team, gear up and prep to drop into hostile territory."

Green lights winked on his HUD.

Nodding Fred hefted up his Avenger and said. "Alright, move out…" And so the Spartans moved out the room with equal eagerness for the upcoming mission.

* * *

**Arcturus Station-Halsey's quarters-0800 hours**

Catherine Halsey's fingers moved across the holographic keyboard swiftly as if she had been using them for years while her eyes moved across the screen as lines of data popped up, resources, times tables on humanity, alien species and anything else she couldn't have seen when Jake had given her access to the data aboard the Manila.

Upon seeing the reasons behind the First Contact war she could understand that this humanity had an extremely high need to expand, interesting…

Pausing she reached over and took a cup of cool coffee, pulled it to her lips and took a sip before setting it down again and resuming her real work.

The MJOLNIR armor Mark VII.

She had a data pad with the basic spefications on it, but now, with the recourses this galaxy had and, hopefully, with the backing of Admiral Hackett, he would give her what she needed to create her greatest creation of all military history.

Well, the UNSC certainly would have called it such, but she wondered if she could still be a well known individual here in this universe?

Bringing up the blueprints for the Mark VII she quickly brought up the large list of materials needed and cross referenced the materials of this universe.

She smiled slightly to herself when she saw that almost all the materials were there, but she would have to work to find a substitute for the Hydrodrastic gel layer of the armor, but it would easy enough with the vast resources this place possessed.

There was a chime from her door and Halsey swivled on her chair to face the door. "Enter," she called simply.

The door slid open and Mendez appeared, arms behind his back and his poker face on as usual. "Doctor," he nodded in greeted before gesturing to her new room. "May I?"

Halsey nodded and said. "Of course, to what do I owe this visit?"

Mendez shrugged and replied. "I wondered if we could continue our previous discussion…" the seriousness in his voice didn't leave room for no.

So Halsey turned to face him and nodded. "Ah, I see…" she said calmly. "Well, what is there to say? I will not allow my Spartans to return to that cursed universe to be crushed by the Covenant."

Mendez nodded and sighed. "Neither do I…" he agreed lowly.

"Mendez…" Halsey hesitated a moment. "What happened to the Alpha and Beta companies of the Spartan-III project?"

Mendez visibly tensed and she knew it was grave news to be heard from his next words. "Operations PROMETHEUS and TORPEDO happened," he replied, his voice still calm but the emotion behind it showed it was a bitter, bitter memory for the Chief. "Alpha was the first to go, a Covenant shipyard was the target for PROMETHEUS and all three hundred members of Alpha hit the ground, at first resistance was light and they proceeded to destroy the reactors."

"However…" Mendez paused. "Hours later, a massive Covenant counterforce was amassed and unleashed on them, it was Thermopylae all over again for those Three hundred Spartans, they were outnumbered, outgunned…out everything, soon it was only three left to fight, Jane, Shane and Robert, those three were the top of the class, the deadliest of Alpha," Mendez took a long breath and shook his head. "Alpha was Confirmed KIA and the operation was a success."

"A success?" Halsey hissed venomously. "That is a success, Chief? All Spartans KIA for a single Covenant shipyard?"

"Beta Company faired no better…" Mendez sighed. "The true purpose of the SPARTAN-III program wasn't just to make heroes, Catherine," Mendez raised his sorrowed eyes to meet hers. "It was to make disposable heroes…"

Halsey suddenly wished Ackerson was there with her in the room so she could give him the tongue lashing of his life before she put a bullet through his head. "That…Monster…" she growled.

Mendez gave a hallow smile. "I know what you're thinking, he's already dead," he said simply.

"Good…because then I would have a reason to go back." with those words, Mendez stood and walked for the door, but stopped when Halsey approached him and set a hand on his shoulder.

He glanced at her over his shoulder, nodded and left without a word.

* * *

**Unnamed Asteroid-0900 hours-Spartan Blue team.**

Fred crouched low in his MJOLNIR armor with Kelly and Linda, since the MJOLNIR suits were airtight they could walk across the surface of the asteroid. But their Spartan-III counterparts could not, the plan was to walk from behind the asteroid to the pirate hanger, kill the resisteance there so the shuttle with the S-IIIs could get in and then they would clear out the rest of the base.

Quietly if the plan went smoothly, which it hardly ever did.

Kelly raised a hand with two fingers.

Fred crouched lower and raised his Avenger while Linda raiser her Viper and sure enough four figures strolled over the rocky surface in the distance, all wearing the same black armor and helmets.

Batarians, if Fred remembered correctly.

The four tangos continued to move along the surface unknowing of their three Spartan watchers, their patrol was sloppy at best, they weren't even alert for threats on the surface and just in space.

Linda's light winked green. She had a shot.

Fred returned the green wink.

Linda's rifle flashed four times in quick succession. The first to go was the one in the back, his head snapped to the side in a sharp tilt then he didn't move. The second and third followed suit before the last turned and raised his weapon halfway to the ready position before he too ceased his movements with a jerk of his head.

The Spartans moved forward towards the patrol, Linda moved to a higher to get better sightlines and watched the area with her critical eye while Kelly and Fred did a quick search for extra supplies on the enemies.

They gathered six disc grenades and three Avenger assault rifles a newer weapon, A Vindicator Battle rifle.

Fred discarded his Avenger and picked up the Vindicator battle rifle, having read up on it within a brief check over of the Alliance known military weapons, then he quickly switched his Alliance Heatsink over for these pirates heatsink and it he was good. Raised his hand he flicked two fingers forward.

The team continued to move across the asteroid until finally they came to the hanger of the pirate base. Bingo, Fred thought before opening a channel to Kelly. "Kelly, move around to the other end side of the hanger and be ready to fire on my signal," he ordered.

"Got it," Kelly moved.

Fred observed the hanger of the base. It was a wide room that looked like it could hold four shuttles and maybe a small ship if they were determined enough to get it inside, there were about ten plus hostiles in the area, some of which weren't armed and were just dock workers. He briefly wandered if he should order a capture order on a few of them.

He was also glad their landing didn't have shields and instead had large metallic doors, eyes scanning the area for a console he spotted an observation window where two more batarians could be seen, though they didn't have suits on like the ones on the docks so the inner area had atmosphere and gravity.

This was good, that meant the Spartan-IIIs would be able to enter with their SPI armor.

Kelly's light winked green twice, she was set and had a shot.

Fred blinked his light green once…twice and finally a third time.

Linda's rifle flashed again and a dock worker jerked as the round tore through his shields, armor and skull with a small spurt of blood before he floated slightly off the flooring. Two others took notice and raised their weapons to the entrance, only to have Linda take them as well, thankfully in space their shots were soundless.

Kelly and Fred raised their own weapons, squeezed the triggers and began to empty burst after burst into every hostiles they had line of sight on. Finally the enemy spotted the shooters and returned fire, though not as efficiently as the Spartans continued to cut them down.

When the Docks were empty aside from bodies, the three Spartans slowly advanced forward and paused when the metallic doors began to close, albeit rather slowly. "Move," Fred barked and did a jump, using the relative low gravity to fly into the hanger with a small roll and standing, Linda and Kelly not far behind him.

The three looked up at the obversation window and saw the batarians give them cautious stares before one moved away and out of the window view, probably to go sound some alarms.

The Spartan-IIs moved to the nearest door and frowned when it was locked. The doors behind them closed with a clang and hiss then there was gravity again. Moving to the door he kneeled by the control panel and sighed, he knew nothing about this tech. "SSV Warpig, Spartan-105 here, I need a ten second lesson on door hacking."

There was static over the com for a moment. "_Roger that, Spartan_…" Fred could tell the speaker wasn't used to the new word. "_Technicians are standing by, transferring now_…"

"_Hello?_" the voice was female, professional. "_I hear you need to learn how get by doors_," there was the hint of a smirk on the words.

Fred nodded. "Yeah, mission critical, any advice?"

"_You have a camera? Show me_."

Fred turned his MJOLNIR visor to the panel and then sent a live feed from his helmet cam back to the Warpig. "I see, hmm…simple enough, pirates always were a little too simpleminded for their own security reasons," the voice paused. "Alright, first thing you have to do is…"

* * *

**SSV Normandy-0900 hours-Bridge**

"Commander, think we should help them?" Joker asked his Commander as Shepard watched the Warpig through the monitor.

"No, this is their mission, I'm just here observing them to see which two of them I like," Shepard replied simply with a shrug. "We have their coms?"

"Not yet…" the technician in one of the many seats replied, before finally. "Got them, Commander."

"_I need a ten second lesson on door hacking…_" came through the speakers.

Shepard raised a brow and listened, he wasn't too good of hacker himself, he left that to Tali, Legion or Kasumi. But he doubted the pirate base had any large form of security unless these new soldiers didn't really know how to hack computers.

The commander was surprised when he heard a voice begin to explain the fundamentals of hacking into doorways, with a small sigh the commander keyed his own com. "Tali, report to the bridge, double time."

"_Yes, commander_!" from the sound of her breathing, Shepard guessed she was already running for the elevator, smiling slightly he shook his head.

In no time at all Tali ran up to the Commander's side and said. "Tali Zorah, reporting…" she nodded and stood straight and observed the Warpig. "They those soldiers you said took down Garrus and Grunt?"

Shepard winced when he glanced over his shoulder at the displeased looking Grunt who had been observing the ship as well.

"She did not take me down, just caught me by surprise, it will _never _happen again…" the perfect krogan grunted with annoyance at the quarian.

"Sorry, Grunt," Tali said simply, sighing softly. She and Grunt got along well enough, but she had a knack for saying the wrong things within earshot. "Now, what is it you needed me for, Commander?" she asked, turning back to Shepard.

Shepard turned to his tech expert. "Tali, can you give me the video recording of the Spartans engagement of the batarian pirates on the _Manila_?" he asked, he wanted to know as much about the Spartans as possible at this point."

Tali shifted on her feet and replied slowly. "When do you want it?"

"A soon as you can give it," Shepard said simply with a shrug.

"Alright, expect it by the end of the day," she turned and walked away from the bridge, not doubt going to her quarters to work.

With that done Shepard turned back to the monitor then listening with interest between the Spartan and technician, growing bored with the conversation quickly he sighed and stuck with it patiently. _I hate this technical crap_… he thought dully.

* * *

**Asteroid-0900 hours-Spartan Blue team**

Fred hated this technical crap, after what seemed like hours the door hissed open and the three Spartan-IIs moved into the doorway with weapons ready as they scanned the hall, surprisingly the alarms weren't sounding.

_Unless they're silent alarms, _Fred thought before moving forward, Linda at his right and Kelly to his left in a V formation as they moved towards the hall. Than the three stopped and glanced around, there were several doors in most directions. "Suggestions?" Fred whispered.

"Eeny, meany…miny there," Kelly pointed to the door on the right.

Fred nodded and the team moved toward the door, stopped and let it open with a hiss then the three raised their weapons to a group of five batarians, each looking surprised at the tall green armoured soldiers before them.

Fred's light winked green.

The three Spartans fired their weapons, tearing though shields, armor and flesh before the five batarians fell to the ground dead. Fred moved over them and found two datapads, but nothing in terms of weapons or armor. "Techs…" he said, observing the locked datapads and then giving them to Linda for safe keeping.

"Nothing useful," Kelly said as she glanced down the hall they came from, surely the weapons fire would attract attention. "That helps though…" she pointed to the wall.

_Hanger bay observation and control room… _Fred nodded. "Lets move."

"It's taking too long…" Mark stated dully, his Viper rifle clutched a little too tightly in his hands. "They should have opened the doors by now."

"Give them time, probably more resistance then expected is all," Ash replied calmly. "They can handle themselves."

That didn't stop Mark's worrying thoughts about their Spartan-II comrades, but it helped it a bit in easing the tension in his body.

"Hey, look…" Olivia nodded ahead towards the doors.

The Spartan-IIIs looked through the window and saw the twin gates begin to open, signalling them inside. "Alright, take us in," Tom ordered.

The shuttle moved forward and landed in one of the empty docks, kept in place by two magnetic straps while the two doors closed again, hissing and then Tom activated the com. "Blue one, is there atmosphere?"

"Yeah, you're cleared, welcome aboard," came Fred's voice over the com.

Tom nodded to the others. Ash pressed the button and the shuttle doors opened to allow the Spartan-IIIs in their SPI armor to file out into the hanger with weapons raised and ready. Green lights winked on his HUD for the all clear. "we're moving into the base now, set nav point," Tom said to Fred.

"_Setting…Set_." A nav point appeared on the Spartans HUDs.

Tom and Lucy took point, Ash and Mark took the rear and Olivia had the middle of their X formation before they arrived at the same location as the Nav point, waiting there was Blue team. Tom nodded to Fred. "Reporting, sir,"

Fred returned the nod and said over the teamwide com. "Alright, infiltration success, Lucy, to you have the charges?"

The mute Spartan nodded and flashed them the bag full of explosives.

Fred nodded, "Alright, Tom, you and Lucy are Green team, your objective will be to find the barracks and plant a charge outside the door," The aforementioned S-IIIs nodded. "Kelly, you and Olivia will find and take out the lights in this place," Kelly and Olivia nodded. "Ash, you and me got the generator to this place," Ash checked his weapon, nodded and finally Linda and Mark both knew was coming. "Linda, you and Mark are on watch, keep this area clear for exfiltration."

"Done, sir…" Linda said with a hint of disappointment in her voice.

Mark however didn't voice his opinion and instead nodded like the rest of the Spartans, but he too was disappointed that he was stuck being on guard duty, but still, he liked his partner for the job.

"Get to work Blue team," Fred said, turning to one of the doorways and moving through, Ash right behind him. Kelly lifted her Avenger and took off down another hall, Olivia keeping her pace and distance behind the larger female. Tom and Lucy both nodded to the other and kept a line going down the other hallway.

Soon Mark and Linda were alone, each set up on one side of the room for line of sight of all doorways and superior position.

* * *

Tom and Lucy paused as they entered another room, scanning it with their weapons they were greeted by computers, blinking lights and what appeared to be several medical tables. A medbay if they had to guess the rooms intention.

Looking at the further tables they spotted three batarians laying in the beds, medical robes covering their bodies and eyes closed. Tom nodded to Lucy to move up and the two each took a side of the room then crept towards the beds.

Reaching them Tom examined the three batarians and said to Lucy. "One each, then set the charge here," he turned to the door they used to enter and watched. "I'll keep your back."

Lucy nodded and aimed at the three.

Three shots rang out and Tom didn't look back.

* * *

"And the ass said I owed him twenty credits! That was bullshit coming out of hi-guh!" The batarian who was listening to his friend turned and saw a large green thing shoving a blade into his friends neck, raising his weapon he tried to fire before he felt a hand grip his chin and the back of his head and the world spun before going black.

Fred watched the two batarians hit the floor before nodding to Ash. "Good work," he said simply as he wiped his blade on the enemies clothes.

Ash shrugged and took the leading batarians weapon, a pistol. Attaching it to his thigh he stood again and turned to observe the hall, aside from three doors the place was a maze. But that wasn't all…

Resistance was too light, they encountered three guards plus these two and there were no alarms. Something in Ash's gut said this was a trap but he didn't voice these thoughts to Fred until he had some form of truth behind them. "Contacts…" Ash said going into a crouch and raising his Avenger.

Down the hall the doors opened and two more batarians paused, raised their weapons and were moved down by Fred and Ash's combined fire. "Clear…" Ash muttered as he stood again.

"Nothing useful on these two other than a pistol," Fred stood as well and sheathed his combat knife while he quickly evaluated the situation in his head. "Something seem wrong to you?" he asked now, turning the smaller Spartan.

"Sir, resistance is too light for my liking," Ash admitted.

Fred nodded. "Yeah, it is…" he opened a com to Kelly. "Kelly, report?"

There was a crack of gunfire before Kelly's voice came through. "_Met some resistance, they're hold up in what appears to be a conference room, four_-" another bout of gunfire. "_Three of them, I'll have the area cleared in a moment_."

Fred waited a heartbeat before Kelly's voice came again. "_Cleared, poorly armoured guards patrolling, tell me I'm not the only one who smells a rat_?"

"No, you're not, me and Ash feel it too," Fred said with a glance to said Spartan before adding. "What's your opinion?"

"_Remember Kurt's feelings_?"

"Yeah."

"_Lets do what he did, pull out and assume the best_."

Fred agreed and so he keyed the team wide com and said. "All teams, fall back to the hanger and prepare to exfil," turning he and Ash made a sprint for the way they had come.

* * *

Kelly turned to Olivia and said. "Anything?" she asked. She and Olivia had found a large conference room and it appeared to have been used recently, some datapads and terminals were still active.

"Nothing," Olivia stood and hefted her Avenger to bear. "We going back?" she asked, having heard Fred's orders.

The Spartan-II nodded. "Yeah, we are," she turned back and tossed the charge into conference room, closed the doors and moved back down the hall they had come. "Lets move, last team there is a rotten grunt," she broke into a sprint that Olivia struggled to keep pace with.

Stopping Kelly rounded the corner and saw both Linda and Mark laying prone on the floor with their rifles levelled on her. "Hey," she waved a hand lightly at them, "You hear the orders?"

The sniper pair nodded silently, both were clearly in their 'zone'.

Another pair of doors hissed and in rushed Ash and Fred, both stopped and looked between the others. "Where are Tom and Lucy?" Fred asked.

No sooner had he finished the sentence did the doors open and weapons fire echoed, both Tom and Lucy backed into the room, firing short bursts from their Avengers, then they moved to the side and took cover behind the doorway while the other Spartans got ready to hit whoever else came through that door.

"We found a medbay…" Tom panted, there was a hole in his SPI armor on his lower right side. "Set the charge, then took a wrong corner and met heavy resistance," his voice was strained with pain. "These rounds hurt like hell."

Fred pointed to the doorway. "Suppressing fire!" he barked into the com and slowly the Spartan-IIs with their shielding stepped into the hall and returned fire at the ten plus hostiles on the other end, downing two before the entire group fell back behind their own cover, some popping out to take a pot shot at the Spartans.

"Lucy, take Tom back to shuttle and keep it warm," Fred ordered the mute Spartan.

Lucy gave a brisk salute before she took Tom's arm and wrapped it around her neck and the two moved into the original doorway they entered from the hanger.

"Mark, close the doors and seal them with your demo charge."

The sniper stood and made his way to the door control, tapping a button the door slid closed and he placed his demo charge in the center of both doors before he and the others backed out of the room into the hall.

"Do it," Fred said.

Mark nodded, pressed the detonator and the area shook lightly. That done the team of super soldiers turned and sprinted for the shuttle.

Upon reaching the small craft they got inside while Fred stayed out and went for the hanger controls beside the larger doors. How they missed that Fred would never know, but it was convenient and he wouldn't question it, opening the large doors the atmosphere vented and he quickly jumped to the shuttle and got on top.

"Take us out," he said to Lucy.

The shuttle lifted, turned and left the asteroid at half speed for fear of tossing Fred off. Turning they made for the rendezvous point with the SSV _Warpig._ "SSV _Warpig_, Spartan Blue team here, pick us up, mission complete," Fred said through the com.

"_Mission complete? But we're still reading the asteroid is still inta_-"

There was a rumble and Fred turned to look over his shoulder in time to see the asteroid rupture, then crumble into pieces from internal explosions.

"You were saying?" Kelly said over the com with a smug air.

"_Uh…roger that Spartans, mission complete and good work, the brass will be very pleased to hear this_," the com went out as the Warpig pulled out from behind a larger asteroid and towards the shuttle.

Alliance wouldn't be the only party pleased by the Spartans mission success, two more pairs of eyes were watching and each was a powerful figure.

* * *

**End of Chapter 7**

**Well, there it is, 4200 plus words and a single operation on the due date I said it would be, the end is a bit rushed, sorry, but I had to in order to make the deadline I said I would. Now, reviews would be kindly appreciated.**


	9. Going with Shepard

**In Infinitum**

**Chapter 8: Going with Shepard**

**Arcturus Station-Debriefing room 012-1000 hours**

Fred stood before Admiral Hackett along with three other high ranking officials who's names he wasn't informed of and all the while he felt like he was working with ONI again as the silence continued for what seemed like hours.

Finally Hackett spoke.

"Your report is impressive," The admiral asked simply. "But…how is Spartan-B292's injury?"

"Sir, he'll be fine. he's suffered worse," Fred replied and wished the rest of the Spartans were there with him, but it was just him and the three high ranking brass. Normally that wouldn't bother him, but there was only three pairs of eyes, no glares, just… analyzing stares.

Hackett nodded. "Good to know, well, Spartan-104," the admiral raised a datapad and held it out over the desk towards Fred. "These are you and your Spartans new ranks, enjoy." the man's lips twitched upwards into a small smile.

Fred stepped forward and took the datapad in his armoured hand, nodded then stepped back and saluted. "Sir! Thank you sir!" he said.

"Let me be the firs to welcome you officially to the Alliance Military, special branch just for your Spartans, I trust you find your new barracks accommodating?"

Fred nodded. "Very much so, sir."

"Good, dismissed Lieutenant Commander," Hackett saluted.

_Lieutenant Commander? _Fred was stuck on the thought for a moment before he returned the salute. "Sir!" he turned and left the room, looking down at the datapad and checking over his Spartans ranks.

Mark, Olivia, Kelly and Ash were Gunnery Chiefs. Linda and Lucy were now second Lieutenants and Tom was a Staff Lieutenant. Fred nodded, this meant no ordinary marines could command his Spartans and Tom was his second in command. He personally couldn't think of a better right hand to help him lead missions.

* * *

**Arcturus Station-Spartan barracks-1000 hours**

The various Spartans were relaxing and this of course meant each was in their own little world.

Tom hissed lightly as Lucy examined his wound then prodded it, making him wince. "See, I'm fine…" he dropped his shirt back down and his long time friend sat back up and nodded, gracing him with a small smile.

He returned the smile before he glanced over his shoulder at the sniping duo who were again next to each other and talking a hushed conversation. Raising his brow Tom shrugged it off and cracked his neck with a satisfying click before another voice came through the air.

"Anyone else bored?" Kelly asked as she was again laying back on bed, full MJOLNIR gear in place since she didn't need to take it off anymore because of the beds were apparently made by Halsey for the Spartans and needless to say, Kelly liked having her armor on.

Ash and Olivia were both engaged in their own little chess game since Ash had never once beaten Fred, deciding he needed more practice he challenged Olivia. His luck wasn't that good against her either.

"Checkmate," Olivia said with just a hint of smugness.

Kelly sighed and unsheathed her combat knife and decided to see what Fred found so fun about tossing it into the air and catching it, flicking her wrist she tossed the balanced knife into the air and watched as it ascended, pause and then fall back into her palm.

Just once and she was already bored of it.

Sheathing it she sighed and stood then made her way towards the door, deciding she may as well tour the base for a bit.

Stopping at the door she was about to open it when it hissed open and there stood Dr. Halsey.

"Ma'am…" Kelly saluted quickly and stepped back. Halsey entered the barracks and nodded approvingly.

"Kelly, I am not your superior, saluting isn't required, nor do I want it…" Halsey raised hand and gently pulled Kelly's arm down to the Spartan's side before she nodded to the others. "Spartans, I have something to tell you all, two of you are going on a special assignment, volunteers?"

The reaction was instantaneous, Kelly's hand was raised to her chest with the blink of an eye as were the other Spartan-IIs and IIIs. Halsey smiled internally and said. "Kelly, Mark," her smile showed on her face now. "You two are chosen, come with me."

She turned and left the barracks, the two following her down the hall and…

"Elevator… ma'am, are there any stairs?" Kelly asked as they approached the too slow device of transportation.

"No, now come, it's not that bad," Halsey stepped in, so did Mark and finally Kelly. The last grumbling about humans this age being lazy.

An elevator ride, short fifteen minute walk later the three reached Halsey's office and stepped inside. "Kelly, Mark," despite the fact the Spartan-IIIs weren't really hers, she still felt that motherly warmth for them, so it was a habit she used Mark's real name rather than number. "You two will be going with Commander Shepard on the SSV _Normandy_, this operation has already been approved by me, Mendez and Admiral Hackett."

Kelly's armoured head nodded slightly. "Understood, ma'am," she paused and added. "What are the details of the mission?"

"You are now under the orders of Commander Shepard, who is on his own critical mission to stop a threat to the universe called the Reapers."

Kelly and Mark shared a glance before nodding.

"He'll give you the details, just know this mission is very important to not only humanity, but every species in this universe," Halsey's face was blank. "Now, questions?"

"None, ma'am!" Mark and Kelly replied at once.

"Good, there is a shuttle waiting for you two," Halsey waved them off. "I'll send word to the Commander."

The two Spartans nodded and left for the hanger bay.

Halsey sighed softly when the door closed and she was alone yet again to her thoughts, something she now found discomforting in this new universe of unknowns but also exciting. Turning to her console she entered a few commands and then accessed a direct, encrypted com channel to the nearby SSV-_Normandy_.

"Commander Shepard," she said. "They're on their way."

"_Alright, I'll treat them well, Doctor_."

Halsey smiled lightly. "They won't make it easy, try to keep them and other species… distant, for awhile…" she suggested.

There was a brief chuckle. "_Will do, Shepard out_."

* * *

**SSV-**_**Normandy**_** VR2**

Kelly and Mark sat in silence as their shuttle docked with the Normandy, the goodbye to the rest of the team had been very curt and quick, but it meant a lot that they had stopped to say goodbye on the way to a high profile mission. Course they couldn't discuss the details, not that they had any to begin with.

That irked the SPARTANs but they didn't show it, well, Mark didn't, Kelly however was doing her small habit of tapping her foot ever so gently on the floor of the craft. Mark took note of the action and so with a small tilt of his head he said. "What's your longest shot?"

Kelly looked and her golden visor shone lightly through her Mark V armor. "I'm not Linda, I didn't keep track of my longest shots when I used the long range stuff," she shrugged. "I was a runner mostly, decoy stuff."

Mark nodded, a little disappointed and then realising he missed he and Linda's conversations already, least they had something in common other then being SPARTANs. "Oh."

The shuttle doors opened and revealed the hallway of the Normandy main crew entry point, leaving the shuttle they stepped onto the Normandy, where they were quickly 'decontaminated' and allowed entry into the ship.

Inside was unlike any ship they'd ever served on, it was… well, very different from the usual UNSC ships they were used to, and even different from the Manila. However, their surprise was only visible by the subtle turns of their heads as they observed the deck from the behind the main cockpit.

"Hey! It's the new guy and girl…" Both SPARTANs turned and saw the who they assumed was the pilot of the ship. He was grinning and gave them a small wave. "Well, with all that armor it would normally be hard to guess who the woman is…" he pointed to Mark, "You right?"

Kelly's shoulders just barely shook with the small chuckle that left her throat when she noticed the smaller SPARTAN-III tense as if struck by a stun baton.

Finally for several moments Mark spoke, his tone oddly flat. but annoyed. "No…"

The pilot blinked, then pointed to Kelly, who nodded. "Oh crap…" he muttered, shaking his head. "Well… that's a surprise…" he said, his chair turning as he found his controls very interesting.

Before Kelly could say anything more to the sniper another voice caught their attention. "Welcome aboard the Normandy, Spartans." It was Shepard, thought without the armor, he still gave an air of command and respect. "I hope your stay here will be pleasant, you'd already met Joke?" he raised a brow.

"Yes, sir." Kelly replied professionally, he wasn't UNSC, but the rank of Commander was still her superior. Mark gave only the briefest of nods at Shepard.

"Good, he takes some getting used to, follow me please, I'll take you to meet the rest of the team." Shepard turned and walked down the pathway, Kelly and Mark following close behind, taking in the sights as they went.

* * *

**Arcturus Station**

"Suppressors?" Admiral Hackett asked as he examined the document that Halsey had placed on his desk, the Doctor herself sat across from him, her clothes substituted for more 'modern' style clothing. Mendez was by the door as well, arms behind his back and stance straight. "Dr. Halsey, Suppressors on our weapons here will not work, they're essentially rail guns."

"I know," Halsey replied, adjusting her glasses. "Please move to page two, paragraph five."

Admiral Hackett looked at the suggested paragraph, then furrowed his brows and looked up at Halsey. "Am I reading this correctly?"

"Yes, quite, see, I have quite the good memory, while the designs for most gunpowder weapons have been lost, the Sniper rifle and various other weapons my Spartans brought with them will be enough to produce more, think about it, Admiral," Halsey paused, thinking over her next words. "Gunpowder weapons in this day and age are, at most, museum props, but… my Spartans, well grateful for the abundance of ammunition in your newer weapons, Lieutenant Commander has requested we get weapons that can be silenced for those delicate operations."

Hackett place the datapad down and entwined his fingers with a thoughtful expression, staring at the desktop rather then Halsey. And for several minutes it stayed that way until he said. "I approve, but it will be taken from your funding and be overseen by you, you sure you can handle the extra work, Catherine?"

Halsey smirked and replied. "Naturally, Admiral," she stood, dusted her clothes off and left the office with Mendez in tow, as they walked down the halls, various men saluting her unofficial bodyguard, she said. "That went well."

"Exceptionally," Mendez grunted beside her. "Again your powers of persuasion impress me, Doctor."

"Mendez, I've said it before, just Catherine, we've known each other long enough to drop such formalities." Halsey said with a glance over her shoulder, she always acknowledged Mendez as the 'father' of the Spartans, she gave them the augmentations and tools, he gave them the skills and will to use them.

"Old habits die hard, Catherine," Mendez replied, his otherwise blank expression softened just a fraction.

The pair quickly reached the Spartan barracks, finding only Linda seated on her bed, full armor and rifle in pieces as she reassembled it. "Linda, where's Fred and the others?" Halsey asked, curious.

"Tom said he and Lucy were going to go to the sparring rings, Fred and the others should be at the firing range," Linda replied, not looking up from her rifle as she attached the barrel to the frame.

Halsey nodded, then she and Mendez left.

* * *

**SSV-**_**Normandy**_

Kelly and Mark stood awkwardly in the communications room, all around the table were various species of aliens, some they pair recognized from their brief encounter, like Garrus and Grunt, but the others were mysteries…

"You've already met Garrus, Grunt and Miranda," Shepard gestured to each as he spoke. "That's Jack."

The Spartans turned to the heavily tattooed bald woman, who seemed to be overly pissed at something. The Spartans could already tell they should probably avoid her.

"There's Legion and Jacob." The synthetic, or Geth, gave the pair a tilt of its head. Jacob gave them a nod, though his eyes travelled over them and their armor. They didn't really pay much attention to him, Legion however looked somewhat like an Elite to them.

"And this is Tali," Shepard finished by patting the woman at his sides shoulder.

"Pleased to meet you," Tali spoke to the pair.

Kelly and Mark both nodded, then when their senses of 'kill all aliens' died down Kelly spoke for them. "Pleasure to meet you all, I hope our addition to this team won't complicate things." Mark again nodded.

"It will give me a chance to pay you back for disarming me…" Grunt said from his spot with a chuckle, giving Kelly a cross between a glare and respectful nod.

Kelly, who was used to taunting foes at times, simply replied. "Bring it."

Before the Krogan could reply back to the taunt Shepard's voice cut him off. "Save it for the next operation you two," he said, shaking his head and giving Grunt a stare, which made the Krogan back off, for now. "Speaking of which, our next operation is kind of a test of our new additions, I sent Thane, Kasumi and Zaeed to a remote planet to scout out a possible base for some Batarian pirates, Thane reported back and said they would need a few more hands to help in the destruction of the base, so I'm sending our resident Spartans." Shepard turned to Kelly and Mark.

"Understood, when do we arrive?" Kelly asked, the thought of a mission making her forget the little challenge from Grunt.

"Soon, prep yourselves and wait in the hanger bay."

"Very good." Mark spoke finally, everyone surprised at the softness, but also the eagerness of his voice.

**End of chapter 8.**

**Disappointing I know, but I had to update, this was LOOONG coming…**


	10. Silent Sun Goddess

**In Infinitum**

**Chapter 9: Silent Sun Goddess**

**Arcturus Station-Debriefing room 012-0850 hours**

Fred was there again, before the Systems Alliance high brass again and he was beginning to wonder if maybe this reality wasn't as peaceful as Halsey said it was. Not that he minded, he and his Spartans often grew bored.

"Lieutenant Commander," Hackett spoke after putting down a datapad. "We've just received word our colony on Amaterasu has gone silent, we'd like to send you and three other Spartans to investigate the colony," the Admiral paused. "Report back any findings, if we're lucky its just a downed communications platform…"

Fred waited a heartbeat then asked. "And if we're not?"

"Then it's something bad."

Fred nodded, saluted and said. "Sir! I'll get it done," with those words he turned and left the briefing room, he already know who he was going to take with him, sadly that meant a few of his Spartans would be left behind to help Mendez train the marines.

As he walked through the halls and corridors of Arcturus Station the leader of Blue Team let his thoughts wonder momentarily to the past, to all his brethren that had been consumed by the war with the Covenant and now, here they were in some entirely new universe with a whole new army to serve.

What bothered him was what could have happened to their reality, did the UNSC survive? Somehow pull a crushing victory over the Covenant and continue to survive… or was Earth glassed and the final blow struck?

Did he and his Spartans run from a battle?

The thought that he and his team were coward struck him, they couldn't be. They had fought valiantly, they were not here by choice. No, they were not cowards, they were unlucky. Just unlucky.

Almost giving a tired sigh from behind the visor of his MJOLNIR armor he entered the SPARTAN barracks to inform his team of the upcoming mission.

* * *

**Unknown planet in Unknown system. 2230 hours. SSV**-_**Normandy**_

Kelly grumbled slightly to herself as she moved another large vine from her path, the forest on this planet was really thick and even in her temperature controlled MJOLNIR suit she could tell it was hot outside by the way the air bent at a distance as if in a desert, but these odd plants must thrive on such temperatures.

She paused when she saw a brief flicker of light shifting, she knew it was Mark before his Photo-Reactive Plates ceased working and his armor returned to its usual soft green with a yellow tinted visor, he was facing forward with his newly acquired Viper semi automatic sniper rifle and Kelly herself was just getting used to the, in her opinion, too light Avenger assault rifle in her grip.

Slowly Mark raised a hand with his thumb pressed to his palm while his fingers curled inward. Kelly stopped, dropped silently to her knee and raised the Avenger at the ready. Tom had informed her that was the Spartan-III "Unknown ahead" gesture.

For a moment Mark stood with his hand in that same position before finally he gestured forward slowly before his armor reactivated and he blended into the textures of the forest, the only sign he had moved was the brief flicker of light here and there as he moved along. Kelly followed after him, silently wondering if Dr. Halsey could implement the same PR plates to her MJOLNIR armor as she felt exposed in the brown, bright green and muddy environment.

That was until she noticed something and the feeling increased ten fold. Mark was nowhere to be seen, no flickers or moving plants to signal he was pushing through them, crouching she moved to her knee and raised the Avenger to the ready and scanned the area, eyes focused.

For what seemed like hour she crouched there on the ground waiting for something, anything, to happen. Finally tired of the waiting she flashed her red light twice.

A green light winked once, twice and finally a red.

Kelly snapped around and her elbow connected with something, which from the way the light bend around it she guessed it used an active camoflage cloak, whatever it was landed in the mud, the cloak sputtered and revealed the crumbled figure of a woman, hooded and from the way her face was relaxed, she was out cold.

There was a softy click as something, most likely a pistol, was pressed to the side of her MJOLNIR helmet, then came a calm, oddly deadly voice that Kelly associated with ONI spooks who were about to tell you that you were safe and then killed you. "Do not move," it said, male.

Kelly considered a quick "And if I do?" but fought that back.

There was a small rustle of fabric and the same voice lightly exhaled before saying. "You are as skilled as Shepard informed us, forgive our actions… we were," the voice paused, searching for the words. "Testing you."

Kelly felt the pressure off her Helmet leave and stepped to the side and brought her Avenger up the aliens face, pausing at what she saw. He had green skin, black eyes and no hair that she could see, if she remembered from some of the lessons Dr. Halsey had given them, he was a Drell.

The Spartan-II then noticed there was a floating Viper pressed to his side as well and then Mark's armor stopped shifting and the revealed the sniper, who winked green three times, it was all clear then.

"You Thane?" Kelly asked, knowing that Mark preferred her to do the talking.

The Drell nodded. "Yes."

"So she must be Kasumi…" Kelly flicked her head towards the unconscious woman on the ground. The Drell nodded again. "Alright, stand down…" Kelly, after a brief hesitation, pulled her weapon away from Thane along with Mark.

The Drell nodded, turned and walked over to Kasumi to check her over, before lifting her in his arms and saying. "Zaeed is holding his location at our base camp where we will we be heading to inform you of the situation we face." With those words Thane carried Kasumi off.

The Spartans followed after the pair back to their camp.

Once there Kelly observed the "Base camp" with some measure of disbelief, it was nothing but a clearing with a small long range communications device that could only send and receive messages, but not in real time, it often took minutes to do so. In the field she and the other Spartans often had to work with what they took with them, but aside from the single communication device and a small container of food, nothing else was around the camp.

"This is our base?" she asked finally, finding her voice.

"It was quickly set up close to the enemy base, but far enough to avoid their patrols," Thane explained, apparently understanding the hidden tone of her voice. "We are sorry for if you find it unsuitable, but it is all we have for now."

The crunching of wood made the Spartans turn and aim in time to see another human, heavily scarred in the face and hefting a weapon in a non hostile position, the two lowered their weapons, that must have been Zaeed.

"Hey, the two Spartans…" he said with a greeting wave. "Your… reminds me of something I saw several years ago on-"

Thane raised a hand and said. "Perhaps later, Zaeed, first we must inform the two of what we have found here and how we're going to destroy the base," turning to the Spartans Thane continued. "The base in question is surprisingly fortified, but the patrols are sloppy at best, I sent Kasumi inside the base to retrieve some basic information and so far, a few notable facts are there are two hundred plus batarians on site, not to mention the dozens of Varren they will employ," Thane paused. "They also have a large Ground to Orbit cannon in the center of the base, this is surprising as it doesn't appear to have been made by the Batarians, I am thinking it is Prothean."

"Prothean?" Kelly tilted her slightly ever so slightly. Protheans, some super advanced race that had disappeared and apparently left the Mass Relays and Citadel around.

"Yes," Thane nodded. "You do not know much about them?" when Kelly didn't reply he nodded again. "I see, Shepard told us of your… unique situation." The Drell turned when there was a soft feminine groan, the group then looked to Kasumi, who was lightly rubbing where Kelly had struck. "Kasumi, are you alright?" Thane asked.

"Yeah… a little sore though," the master thief replied, then looked at Kelly and Mark. "I heard you were good… didn't think you saw me," she said, sighing softly and standing, followed by a stretch. "Now… what did you tell them about the base?"

"The cannon, the number of guards…"

"Oh, so… the fact it's going to be a run through hell?" Kasumi asked, receiving a now.

"Oh," everyone turned to Kelly when she spoke, her voice oddly confident. "Two Spartans and three apparently talented individuals can, have and will make all the difference," There was a more smug tone in the larger Spartan's voice. "Lets work on a battle plan, shall we?"

* * *

**Amaterasu Colony planet, SSV-**_**Valor. **_**2240 hours**_**.**_

Fred observed the growing planet, currently they were aboard the Frigate-class Valor. A small ship meant for scouting and patrols rather the combat, but for now, this thing would be good enough as its orders were to drop the Spartan team groundside then wait for orders to extract them after their investigation was complete. But Fred was getting that feeling that this wasn't going to be that simple.

"A gut feeling" Fred remembered what Kurt had called his own feelings when he "sensed" traps, this talent made Kurt one of the most efficient leaders within the program. It was often Kurt who had defeated both John and Fred's teams.

But now, as he saw the Colony growing in side as they descended to the surface and the feeling growing with it, maybe he too was developing that same sense. Shaking his mind from his thoughts he opened his com. "Tom, status?"

"_Lucy and I have loaded the shuttle up with spare Thermal clips as ordered, Linda is also set, we're just waiting on you and the go signal, sir,_" came Tom's voice through the channel.

Fred was impressed with how efficient Tom and Lucy were, they were still 'fresh' in his eyes but they were already proving to be one of his most valuable pair of Spartans for missions and something told him they would only be further proven on this operation.

What bothered him was the fact Halsey had made the Spartan-IIIs wear the Alliance issue Combat Hard Suits for this operation, he could see some of the logic in the decision. They had shields, or rather kinetic barriers, decent enough protection when the shields dropped and were airtight for much longer then SPI armor.

But it lacked several key features that he knew the S-IIIs valued, PR plates, the usual HUD and communication options, meaning Fred would have to issue orders manually rather then with the flashing of his status lights. That irked Fred to a degree, but he would adapt.

"_Lieutenant Commander, Captain Sharon here, we're two minutes from the drop zone, you sure you don't want us to take you fully to ground?_" came the voice of the captain, she was also a fresh Captain by his greeting with her, the rank was new to her, Likely just promoted.

"Yes, I am sure, we don't know what's down there and I'm not taking a chance risking the Valor by going to ground, just drop us off and wait in orbit for our signal to come down," Fred replied as he turned and made his way out of the observation post towards the elevator.

By the time he had reached the shuttle bay there was Tom and Lucy, adorned in their Onyx combat armor, standard issue for Alliance marines. Avengers in their grips while Linda, after some browsing and convincing from Dr. Halsey, was sporting a M98 Widow AM rifle. Each one sported a M5-Predator as their backup weapons.

Oddly enough Fred found she looked like a child that got her favorite toy taken away from them when she was informed that her rifle would be out of her hands for a few days.

When he approached Tom, Lucy and Linda snapped off simultaneous salutes. Which Fred returned and said. "At ease," before he looked at the shuttle. "Pile in and be ready, we're a minute to drop, ROE for this mission is Search and if necessary, Rescue. We're still newcomers here so lets play it by return fire only," Fred paused. "Understood?"

"Sir!" the three Spartans nodded and the team piled into the Shuttle, closed it and Tom manned the controls, since they all shared the common distrust of the autopilot function.

"_We're at the drop zone, take off Spartans_!" came the Captains voice.

"Take us out, Tom," Fred said.

The shuttle jerked and moved forward as the bay doors opened, then it sped out and over the light green forest and plain regions of the colony, it looked a lot like Earth in regards to the grass and forests, giving Fred a familiar feeling of discomfort when he remembered how many of these beautiful planets had been glassed by the Covenant.

He didn't stay in thoughts long before Tom's voice cracked over the com. "_Approaching what looks like a city, want me to take us down there? Or the outskirts?_"

"Outskirts, we'll enter the city via-"

There was a warning alarm and then Tom's voice came over the com again, this time more urgent. "_Incoming heat sources! Evading!_" the shuttle jerked to the right and Fred caught brief glimpses of blue speeding past the smaller shuttle, each was as large as the shuttle and it sped upwards, it was clear the shots weren't meant for them and the shuttle.

Fred quickly opened the com. "_Valor_! Evasive manoeuvres now! I repeat! Break off and head into high orbit!"

Captain Sharon's voice came back, but it was garbled in heavy static. "_Say again Spartan? We're getting som_-" Her voice took on a more surprised and shocked tone. "_Evade! Hard righ_-" the coms cut off.

In low orbit, the _Valor_ exploded as the three large plasma bolts struck their target center mass, vaporizing the unshielded frigate before turning into a burning mass of debris. Several larger pieces flew past the shuttle, which began to evade. "Hang tight!" Fred hissed over the coms as he braced.

The shuttle was nearly taken down by a large segment of the _Valor_'s wing before they were clear they landed on the ground inside a forested area, the moment the doors opened Fred ordered his team out and scan the area for hostiles.

When the area was declared clear Tom said over the com. "Plasma fire? I thought this reality didn't use those types of weapons…" he said, just the barest hints of frustration in his voice.

Fred wondered the same thing, but for now he wouldn't question it. The _Valor_ was destroyed and from the interference they got when trying to warn the _Valor _meant that communications were being jammed as well. These tactics sounded all too familiar to Fred now.

"Linda, find a clear view of the city and report back in thirty," Fred watched as Linda nodded, turned and moved off into the forest, silent as a shadow, before she disappeared and he opened a com Tom and Lucy. "Tom, Lucy, secure the surrounding area, report back any findings every five minutes, I'm going to disguise the shuttle."

The pair nodded and moved off, weapons raised. Fred turned to the shuttle and then to the surrounding trees to gather branches and brush to cover it, as it was their only transport for now.

* * *

**Unknown planet in Unknown system. 2300 hours. **

Mark-G254 sat atop a large tree, his PR plates masking him from the enemy patrols that circle the medium sized base, guard towers with auto turrets, a few APC vehicles and dozens of infantry, even a few shuttles that were being unloaded and loaded. Zooming in on one particularly important looking Batarian he considered the taking the shot, but didn't and instead resumed his scanning of the base.

He paused when one of the pirates was dragged into the shadow by an unseen force, opening his com Mark said. "Kasumi is in,"

That was good, Kasumi had infiltrated the base once before to gather details that Thane had explained to them and now she had did again and was charged with planting some charges in three key locations, the barracks, communications array and finally the armory. Each would be detonated by Mark manually when the times were right.

First detonation would be the coms array, that would also be the signal for Kelly, Thane and Zaeed to advance on a small blind spot which was a river then ran into the base, where they used the water to drink. This was where luck came into play, it counted on the fact that the water readying equipment was either fully automated or lightly manned with workers distracted by the explosion.

If it worked, the enemy won't be expecting a small team to start shooting them from inside their own base, it if it didn't and they were discovered, Mark was to blow the remaining charges and begin providing sniper support for their retreat.

The sniper seriously hoped it didn't come to retreat, they had lost too many allies retreating. Lieutenant Commander Ambrose, Dante… those names stuck out to him more then most. LTCDR. Ambrose and "The Chief" Mendez were, to Mark, like older brothers. They had taught him things and honed him into what he was, who he was. No longer was he a cry baby child, he was a Spartan.

He would honor their names by keeping his allies safe. "Kelly, status?"

"_We're in the river now and making our way down, smooth and slow, how does it look with Kasumi_?" Kelly replied.

"She's just finished planting the first charge on the coms array," Mark replied, barely able to keep track of her cloaked figure through his scope. Soon Kasumi disappeared from his view and he com'd Kelly. "Lost sight of her."

"_Alright, we're almost in position, how does our approach look_?"

Mark shifted his aim over the base towards the river, seeing Kelly, Thane and Zaeed moving along slowly in crouches, the water reaching their stomachs as they moved along the barely covered area, Then he focused on the guards who overlooked the area. "They're very lax, looking over the base rather then the river," he reported. "It's clear."

Kelly's light winked green and the group advanced a bit quicker to cover a long straight away towards the base, making it to the drain where the water entered they were covered now. Mark then moved the scope over the guards. They were still oblivious to the team's presence.

Finally Kasumi's voice came over the com. "_Charges are placed, I'm going to go find some high ground and get my Carnifex ready_." with that the com closed.

Mark paused and saw Kelly, Thane and Zaeed enter the base's water treatment area through the drain and so he lost of them all for several moments before a green light winked on his HUD. He winked green back and brought out the charge detonator from his armor compartment and readied to blow the first charge.

* * *

**Amaterasu Colony planet, 2300 hours**_**.**_

Fred observed his work, he had covered the shuttle well enough and gotten some smaller trees then stabbed them into the ground to make it seem part of the forest, it was a bit of a tough job but it would work well enough at a passing glance overhead but not an up close inspection.

But now he had a new set of worried on his mind, He had received a series of all clears across from Tom and Lucy, but Linda had yet to report in. An oddity for the otherwise professional Spartan, one he found discomforting.

Turning he snapped his Avenger up and aimed, then lowered it upon seeing Tom and Lucy leave the trees. "All clear," Tom said when they neared Fred. "These suits feel… different."

Lucy nodded her agreement.

Fred nodded. "I'll talk to The Chief about getting your SPI armor back quickly from Dr. Halsey before the next op, for now…" he paused, should he say his next words? Quickly deciding he should he added. "Have you two heard from Linda?"

The pair shook their heads. "She hasn't reported in?" Tom asked, and Lucy's expression took one of slight concern.

"No, she's thirty minutes overdue," Fred replied simply, sounding thoughtful. "I-"

Linda's voice came over the com. "_Lieutenant Commander, setting a Nav point, you gotta see this_."

Fred's HUD lit up with a Nav beacon that showed Linda's location at about 214 metres away. Quickly ordering Tom and Lucy to fall in, then they moved towards the Sniper's location in a brisk pace through the forest, carefully advancing when they neared Linda's location.

Pausing Fred saw Linda prone on the ground, her rifle sighted down at the distant city from her high rise edge of a cliff, she was unmoving except for the slight raises of her shoulders to breathe. Moving up he went prone and crawled up beside her. "What did I need to see?" he asked.

"Edge of the city, straight ahead…" Linda replied in her trance like state.

Fred turned forward, then activated the magnification function on visor and scanned the edge of the city for whatever he was supposed to see.

He stopped when he saw it, it was barely visible, just the barrel that peaked over the tops of some buildings, the purple sheen, the smoke from recently discharged plasma shots. He had seen them on Reach when the Covenant tried to establish footholds on the surface. It was a Type-38 Anti Aircraft Cannon, or 'Tyrant' as the UNSC had taken to calling them and it proved one thing.

The Covenant were on Amaterasu.

"We have to establish an uplink to Arcturus, they need to send a fleet here…" Fred stated, receiving a small nod. "Fall back, we're going to need to think of a plan," with those words the four Spartans traced back their way to the shuttle to formulate another plan to counter a possible Covenant invasion.

* * *

**End of chapter 9**

**Dun Dun Dunnnnn! Where did these Covenant come from? What are their plans? Why did I update so fast? Review and I may tell! **


	11. Confrontations

**In Infinitum**

**Chapter 10: Confrontations**

**Amaterasu colony, 2400 hours**.

Just what the hell was going on?

This question swam through Traver's mind as he and the few remaining Amaterasu Police forces barricaded, locked and welded all the doors in the main shopping center of the colony, which was essentially a large dome with several dozen stores of all genres. Now he and the last few survivors of the colony were using it as a makeshift fort against those _things_.

Sighing Traver closed his weary brown eyes and tried to fight off the sleep that wanted to claim him, it had only been two days, but they felt like a week to him. Whatever these things were, they had targeted the Colony's interplanetary communications array, which effectively cut them off from the Alliance and sending out a proper distress signal which meant the Alliance would send only a repair or investigation crew to find out the problem and fix it.

They needed a whole _lot _more than either.

Of course, the array going offline was just thought to be a bug at first and they had sent a engineer to fix it, he didn't report back and that should have been the first sign of trouble. But no, Traver and the other police forces were just a little too late the see the signs of the growing storm, bad enough that two days prior there was a huge meteor impact that the team sent to find that thing didn't report back either.

So yes, in his professional opinion, Traver thought that this was what they got for being a little too naïve to the dangers of the wide universe. Now, if God or whatever divine deity would just take back the things and let him and the people left live, that would be swell.

"Traver! Get up man! We still have to weld the doors in the back!"

Traver opened his eyes and lazily stood, sighing he muttered. "Damnit Jiles, I'm tired! Can't you weld those things alone? Or take someone else?" he asked, but made to follow the other man, Jiles, anyways.

Jiles smiled and rubbed the back of his helmet sheepishly. "I would, but everyone else is in a worse mood then you," he said then turned and the pair moved towards the back of the large dome, passing groups of people huddled together along the way, families, friends and just total strangers looking for some form of comfort.

He didn't blame them. The enemy they were facing had so far, to Traver's knowledge, never taken any prisoners, seems the whole colony was open season to these guys. What made it worse was that the police forces were arms with only Predator sidearms, which didn't do much against the shielding the larger ones sported.

Thankfully they tore the little ones apart easily enough, and the ones who used those circular shields if you could get around them, but often those things were in the back using some sort of beam weapon that melted through both kinetic barriers _and _bodies like a hot knife through butter.

And Traver didn't even want to think about the larger ones that didn't have shields, but still seemed to be unstoppable, their armor had to be made of ship hull grade metal because their Predator rounds pinged off it as if they were throwing rocks and it got better, they had large cannons attached to their arms that fired some sort of large explosive round of plasma, if you didn't get hit a near miss would be enough to cook you too.

All in all, Traver didn't have much hope that he and the last forty-two officers stood much of a chance against this sort of enemy, especially since they seemed particularly effective at killing things.

Finally reaching the rear doors Traver got to work locking them down while Jiles got his welding gear ready for when they were closed, finally the door hissed closed and he turned to Jiles. "Alright, weld this thing and I'll get the other ready."

"Kay," Jiles said, moving to the door and tapping his helmet, making the visor on his APF (Amaterasu Police Force) helmet darken and then began to weld the doors top to bottom.

While Jiles did that Traver moved off to the other set of doors, pressing the keys he paused, then the doors hissed open as he was about to press the "Lock" key. Turning and then eyes going wide with terror, Traver stumbled back and reached for his Predator pistol. "Jiles! They're here!" he shouted and then wished he hadn't then the things head snapped to him, crimson black armor glinting softly in the light.

"Die you bastard!" Traver yelled, closing his eyes and firing wildly, hearing the sounds of the things shields as the round pinged off it, then there was a vice grip on his neck and he was in the air by his neck. "Gah!" he gasped and opened his eyes, meeting the glowing eyes of the things helmet. "What… the hell are you?"

The thing stared at him, it must have been easily seven to eight foot tall and very strong, seeing as it was dangling Traver off his feet with a single arm while the other held a blue weapon that fired blue balls of plasma, Traver didn't need to experience it to know that three shots from that took down Kinetic barriers, the fourth likely killed you.

Finally, the thing spoke, a rough voice coming out in English. "Your end, cur." With those words it raised its weapon to Traver's face and the man closed his eyes.

_Least it will be quick…_ he thought, gulping despite the pressure on his throat.

"Traver!" Jiles came rushed forward behind the thing, welder in hand as he rammed it into the monster's back, penetrating its shields and causing them to blink out altogether, the thing roared and tossed Traver to the side before turning to Jiles with what the younger officer could feel was a glare. "Oh shit…"

The thing bellowed before backhanding Jiles, sending the man back several feet onto his back in a daze. The officer didn't have much time to regain his sense before there was a white hot flooding his body. Mouth opening in a silent cry of agony as the thing buried a glowing blue white blade into his abdomen.

Traver groaned lightly and opened his eyes, then saw Jiles on the ground with the thing holding some sort of energy blade into him. "Kid!" he yelled, feeling rage take his body as he raised his Predator pistol and fired three quick rounds.

The rounds didn't meet the energy shields and instead, the first shot went wide, hitting the chair next to it, the other two however pierced the things unarmored side, spurting purple blood to the floor, growling the thing jerked the blade out of Jiles and turned to face Traver.

With a yell Traver tackled its midsection, taking them both to the ground, not wasting any time Traver put the Predator pistol to the things chin and hissed. "Die you piece of shit…" before firing until his thermal clip expelled, he found himself clicking the trigger afterwards a few more times before he remembered Jiles.

Getting off the creature he turned and hurried back over to the young mans side. "Kid!" Traver said urgently as kneeled next to the man and helped him sit up. "Come on man, its your third week on the job," he muttered.

Jiles coughed weakly and opened his eyes. "Hey Traver… aw man I feel like I went two boxing rounds with Shepard… and he didn't have gloves…" he joked, forcing a smile.

"You crazy kid! The hell is wrong with you? Charging that thing like it was just an angry dog…" Traver replied, almost sighing in relief.

"Hey… don't worry about me boss, I'm fine…" Jiles muttered, raising his hand weakly and patting his abdomen where the two points of the blade had entered. "See? No blood… no vitals, just a flesh…wound." Jiles' eyes glazed over and his head lulled back in death.

Traver grit his teeth and put Jiles down, closing his eyes and standing, turning to the door he moved over to it, closed then locked it. Turning he picked up the welder and returned to the door to weld it shut, after kicking the thing of course, before he slumped against the wall and closed his eyes to rest.

"_Travers! Jiles! Report in, are those rear set of doors closed_?"

_Damnit! _Traver thought as he snapped his head up and replied through the com. "They're closed Sarge… but Jiles… one of those shielded things got inside and it killed him, I got it and closed the doors," Traver made his way back. "Why?"

"_We have troubles! They have floating tanks out front and look like they're about ready to full out bomb this place to hell and further_!"

"Son of a bitch! Can't we get a break?" Traver yelled, taking off his helmet and tossing it to the side in frustration.

* * *

**Blue Team, Amaterasu Colony. 2350 hours.**

Fred, Tom and Lucy moved across the deserted the streets of the outer city, everywhere they went there was signs of Covenant, plasma scoring from small arms fire, craters from plasma mortars and grenades and bodies, mostly humans and grunts with a few Jackals mixed in. But the fact there was no Elites in the body count worried him, that meant a few things to him and none of them was good.

Pausing he raised a fist, then when the familiar humming of Covenant grav boosters reached his ears he hastily moved his hand to the building beside them, the three Spartans quickly took what refuge they could in the rubble of the destroyed household.

Just as Fred covered himself in a piece of vehicle debris a Wraith tank hovered around the corner, backed by eight Grunts, six Jackals and two Elites, a red and blue one. _An armored patrol,_ Fred narrowed his eyes at the sight, the Jackals kept their heads moving around, searching for survivors to flush out.

Soon the patrol passed and the Spartans stepped out of their covers, there was no point in starting a fight when they were hopelessly outnumbered at likely one to one hundred odds. They needed to reengage the communications array then get a message to Hackett declaring "WINTER CONTINGENCY".

First things first, making it to the com relay at all without being spotted along the way. "Linda, what do you see?" he whispered into the com.

Linda, who he knew sat on a high area overlooking the city, replied. "_A few patrols, mostly just infantry. Spotted three separate armor patrols so far, same numbers in each_," she paused and watched as five banshee flyers left the city and moved out opposite of her direction. "_Five banshees just left the city… doesn't look like a search pattern_."

"Alright, keep us posted," Fred cut the com and nodded to Tom and Lucy. The three made their way along the back alleys of the city, Lucy watching the rear, Fred taking the front and Tom scanning the rooftops.

Three patrols later the three Spartans stopped when distant explosions could be heard, which meant survivors were fighting against the Covenant. "Double time," Fred broke into a small sprint, followed by Tom and Lucy, when they reached the area. It was a courtyard of sorts, a large dome like structure stood, bombarded by Wraith fire, metal burned and vaporized away in a flash as the large plasma rounds struck the dome.

From inside the Dome's second floor, several people fired rockets and small arms at the Covenant force, which consisted of an armored patrol and some more ground troops like Elites and Grunts, one of the men fired a rocket at the Wraith, the rocket streaked blue towards the large hover tank, impacted and exploded against the tough armor, leaving a smoking black scorch on the Wraith's purple blue hull.

The man was promptly hit by a needle in the side, not knowing any better what the needle did when it struck a target the man tried to aim the rocket for a shot of retaliation, only to cry in pain when the needled exploded while still inside him, piercing and cutting up his innards with a spay of blood.

"Alright, we have to help those civilians…" Fred said into the com, turning to Tom and Lucy. "Here's the plan."

* * *

**Unknown planet, 2350 hours.**

Ogrhen muttered darkly as he studied the console he had assigned to repair… for the ninth time that day! _Honestly, these imbeciles give me too little credit,_ the Batarian engineer thought with a spike of annoyance, this console was delicate and it seemed only his delicate touch could actually repair for longer then three hours.

He sighed, this water treatment plant was small and easy to use, but the equipment that monitored it was sometimes as glitch filled as an old computer game he had played, Star-something or other, it was old… barely worth the memory of his personal Omni tool. His line of thought was cut off when a dull thud sounded off behind him.

Turning he spat. "Damnit Zevran!"

He stopped and looked at his fellow Batarian on the ground, a neat little knife at the base of his neck, blood pooling around as it left his mouth to drip to the floor. And beside the body was a large, eerily green armored figure that was about eight foot tall, and it was staring with a golden visor at Oghren, who watched frozen as the large creature reached up and took his head in its large hands and he knew what was coming.

Oddly enough his mouth found words in the final moments of his life. "Oh that's just unfair…"

Then his world went black as his head twisted violently in a 180 degree angle.

Kelly watched the Batarian drop, oddly amused at the last words he had said before she decided to twist his head around. Turning back she nodded into the darkness of the pool of water, where Zaeed and Thane climbed out of the water, even though Kelly was the largest of them, she was still the most quiet, faster and stronger of them.

Thane looked at the body, retrieved Kelly's knife and handed it back to her hilt first. The Spartan nodded and gratefully took the knife back and inserted it into its sheath, so far, she liked Thane, he was a pretty quiet guy, almost Spartan in his devotion to the task at hand, Kasumi was quiet too, but the master thief always unnerved Kelly to a degree so far and so she hadn't initiated much communication unless Thane did so and Kasumi just added her two cents.

And Zaeed? Well, he was Zaeed.

Kneeling Kelly opened a com to Mark. "We're in, any sign we've been made?"

"_No, Kasumi just gave the all clear signal, we're green to go on your signal…_" Mark's voice replied. "_Standing by_."

Kelly waited a heartbeat, turned to Thane and Zaeed who returned her look with nods and then she said. "Do it."

A deep rumble shook the walls of their building and then the sounds of alarms blaring then guards shouting muffled through the door, then there was the subtle crack of a shot from long distance and she knew Mark was picking his shots. With that thought Kelly kicked the door open, knocking the thin material off its hinges and slamming into a nearby batarian, who stilled on the ground with the dented piece of steel. Raising her Avenger Kelly sighted the first Batarian who noticed her and fired a quick burst of fire into the alien's torso.

She wasn't met with the resistance of a kinetic barrier and so the four rounds easily tore through the basic working fatigues and into the flesh of the Batarian, making him spasm and fall to the ground, coughing up blood a moment before Kelly finished him with a headshot before his coughed up blood even hit the ground.

Thane stepped out and fired his Carnifex magnum, a round sailing clean through another Batarian head, scattering blood, bone and brain matter to the ground as the body slumped down, Zaeed let out a small cry of enjoyment before he unleashed a stream of hellish flame from the flamethrower he carried and with lethal efficiency he burned three Batarians, two of which were wearing kinetic barriers that fell so quickly under the intense heat.

Kelly paid the horrid tactics no heed, these Batarians were not in any rush to get organized and she was going to keep it that way. He motion tracker had three red blips moving behind her, spinning she was met with the growl of a Varren as it tried to tackle her, raising her arm she watched as the creature opened its mouth and clamped down on her arm…

And then its teeth shattered when it tried to bite through the Titanium A plating, it whimpered and then howled in pain as Kelly buried her knee into its stomach, lifting it into the air where it fell and landed unmoving on the ground. The other two Varren whimpered at the sight, turned and headed for the fence to escape the clearly superior creature.

Kelly turned around again in time to catch a Batarian as it tried to ram a very big knife into her side, she was sure her black suit layer could have deflected the knife, but she wasn't about to give this pirate, the closest thing to an insurrectionist in this time, the honor of thinking it landed a viable hit on her, with her enhanced strength she snapped its arm up and rammed the knife through his mouth into his head.

She let the body fall limp to the ground and scanned the area.

Engineers were running around, either trying to find a place to hide as sniper fire kept them in disarray, the few actual armed soldiers however quickly realised that Kelly, Thane and Zaeed weren't allies, and then with the roaring of eight Avenger assault rifles firing at them the Spartan's shields pinged the rounds off as she bolted around the corner of the barracks.

When she did there was fire above that rained down on her, her shields drained to half when five struck them, snapping her Avenger up she spotted four Batarians on a high perch on top of the communications tower.

"_Boom_," Mark said over the com.

The Charge placed on the tower exploded, sending the four batarians spiralling into the air where they hit the ground with a dull thud, one landing on some barrels, groaning, but unlike his colleagues, alive.

Thane expertly returned fire while stepping back into cover, his kinetic barriers taking a bit of a beating to the point that he had to cease shooting. What Kelly saw next would forever go down in her books as the most reckless, and likely one that the mercenary was very used to since it seemed second nature to him.

Zaeed Messani roared a battle cry then rushed the eight Batarians while Kelly briefly watched stunned as the Mercenary's kinetic barriers failed in the barrage of rounds, then when the Mercenary took a round through the shoulder did he yell again and unleash the fire of his weapon and drowned the batarians in flames.

A few tried to back away but even as he fired the Mercenary was still advancing until he was right up in their faces spraying fire at them in near point blank range, their weapons went off as the writhed, falling to the ground and screaming to the heavens until slowly their screams died with their scorched bodies.

The display did its job, the Batarians who witnessed the act that were armed quickly tossed their weapons to the ground, placed their hands up and looked at the three attackers who had so far shown their security force wasn't quite as good as they had thought.

"Okay! We give up!" one Batarian shouted, hands raised staring at the burning corpses that the Mercenary had laid out like bonfires across the area around the water treatment plant.

Kelly stepped away from the barracks and frowned, there should have been more resistance then they what they had encountered, she found herself oddly disappointed, but that was alright, she and the had won and completed the mission, base was captured and now they had Batarians to interrogate as well.

_Yes, a successful Op_, she thought. Opening a com to Mark. "You got anything?"

"_No, doesn't look like there's any more party left in em, should I call in Shepard and have him come dirtside?_"

"Yeah," Kelly nodded and turned to Thane. "Gather up the ones who surrendered, Zaeed," when the merc turned to her she continued. "You and I got perimeter patrol, lets go."

"Lucky me," the merc grumbled, ignoring the blood dripping down his arm because of his shoulder wound as he followed the large Spartan to patrol the fence. Kasumi lightly looked over the dead, checking for anything useful.

* * *

**Amaterasu Colony, 2450 hours.**

Fred silently crept towards the pair of Grunts who were unloading a crate of weapons, weapons that, after some observations, Fred knew were Fuel Rod cannons and would be very instrumental to taking down those Wraith tanks and then the Spartans could focus on the infantry without the worry of being reduced to vapor from a plasma mortar.

"And I say…" The grunts babbled as he neared in the shadow of the food stand that had chosen to unload the weapons near.

Waiting a moment until of the Grunts turned away, Fred's arms lashed out, gripped the things mouth and crushed it's methane mask… and skull.

The other turned, then met the demonic gold visor of the Demon. "D-Demon…" it whispered in terror struck fear, its plasma pistol forgotten in its grip as the Demon brought its fist down on his head, killing the poor creature.

Fred looked around, tossed the two bodies into the stand then took two Fuel Rod cannons from the rack and shouldered one, it was an awkward weapon sometimes when one didn't hold it for a practiced amount of time and right now Fred found it awkward. Taking the two weapons, he glanced around once more then closed the container and stalked back into the shadows.

The Spartan leader quickly made his way to Tom and Lucy's positions on the third story building to the rear of the Covenant position, three Jackal snipers lay at their feet, broken necks all. Fred approached the silent pair. "We clear?"

Tom opened a com. "We're good."

Fred offered one of the large cannons to the Spartan-IIIs, who took them and shouldered them, then aimed at the Covenant force while Fred lifted his Avenger to his shoulder and took aim, ready to fire as they had planned, watching as the Covenant forces focused solely on the defending civilians in the dome.

Which was perfect for the plan that Fred had put together. "Linda, you in position?" he whispered into the com, suddenly in his hyper alert state.

Linda's light winked green.

Fred subtly nodded to Tom and Lucy, who both returned the gesture and then they each unloaded the five rounds from their respective cannons. Fred watched the ten radioactive projectiles streak towards the Covenant position.

One struck a Wraith in the rear booster, melting the armor away then detonating with a furious green glow, causing the mortar to explode, taking the entire Wraith with it and knocking some of the surrounding infantry, bar the Elites, to the ground, the remaining struck the grounds around the infantry, vaporizing those too close and knocking the shields away from others.

A white armored Ultra turned to face the source of the Fuel Rod fire, glaring intensely at the Spartans before its head snapped to the side as Linda's precise shot snapped its neck without breaking its shields, it fell down to the ground with a thud.

The Covenant forces turned while a handful of Jackals and Grunts and the last Wraith continued the assault on the dome. Everything else was now focused on the Spartans, they moved towards the three on the building across the block, at this Fred winked Linda green three times.

The single Wraith sparked on its armor, it sputtered, then sank to the ground. The driver dead inside the vehicle.

"_You have Banshee patrol coming in, three of them to try and bring down the house_…" Linda reported. "_Do I take em_?"

Fred nodded. "Take em."

On a perch atop a fifteen story building roof Linda lay prone in the shadow of a ventilation exit, her sage green armor melding with the shafts shadow as she zoomed on the three banshees who fired their fuel rod guns at the building Fred, Tom and Lucy were in to try and bring it down on top of them.

_Not while I am here,_ Linda thought.

Slowly, she gently squeezed the trigger of the Widow, it rang out loudly and the side of the Banshee sparked, then the engines died along with the pilot as the now inert flier hit the ground and exploded in a haze of purple and blue.

The two remaining Banshees broke off and tried to find the source of the shot, Linda tracked one, fired and watched as the bottom sparked, then it turned towards her along with the second. She narrowed her eyes and replaced the spent thermal clip.

She took a breath and fired again.

The shot struck the Banshee's left wing, shaking it off course, another shot and the front sparked and the Banshee lowered below her sight line while the second let loose with its plasma repeaters, spraying the building top with blue bolts of plasma.

Linda forced herself not to move, they knew her general location, but not the exact. With her three more shots she tracked the Banshee that was firing, then she fired once again. The round struck its side along where the pilot would be, then the Banshee fell down, its grav boosters offline with its pilot dead.

Linda scanned the area. _Now, the last one, _she thought as she stood and brought up the Widow. _Where-_ her thought stopped as she heard the discharge of a fuel rod cannon, on instinct she jumped away from her position in any direction moments before it impacted and the force sent her spiralling.

She watched as blurs of movement ended when she slid across the roof of the building, her armor smoking from the fuel rod that had nearly reduced her to vapor. Looking around she saw her Widow laying a few feet away, then she looked up and saw the Banshee headed for her.

There wasn't enough time to retrieve her weapon and bring the Banshee down.

She grit her teeth and sprinted for it anyways, she would die with a weapon in her hand then empty handed, she saw the Banshee charge its fuel rod to fire, then the loud roar of a heavy machinegun brought her an instant of shock, even as the Banshee sparked from the hits, it turned and tried to fly off, but the heavy barrage was too much and it exploded mid air.

Linda landed, gripped the Widow and rolled to her feet with the weapon raised at the newcomer.

"Linda, still favoring the long rifle I see…" The voice was very familiar. "Been awhile too, how you been?"

Linda's eyes widened a fraction before her mouth opened slightly, it couldn't have been… he had disappeared, then again… so had Kurt, but…

"Jorge?" she stood slowly, the rifle lowering.

Inside the dented, scorched and customized MJOLNIR mark V armor, SPARTAN-052, Jorge, stood with his large ammo pack on his back and Heavy machinegun in his hand. "The one and only," Jorge replied with a nod. "Guessing thats Fred's tag too, huh? What, you two set off a Slipspace bomb too?"

* * *

**End of chapter ten**

**There it is! Chapter ten of In Infinitum! Hope it was as action packed as you all had hoped, because there is more to come! Now, leave a nice little review, as they push me to write faster.**


	12. Battle of Amaterasu

**In Infinitum**

**Chapter eleven: Battle of Amaterasu**

**Amaterasu Colony, 2450 hours.**

Travers blinked when one of the large, floating tank things had exploded in a rather impressive display of blue and purple fire, he saw several of those same green projectiles strike them, like the ones the little aliens fired, except obviously bigger and slower since they took out one of those tanks in a single shot.

"We've got some backup!" The Sergeant shouted. "Lets hit em hard!"

As if seeing the two heavy vehicles explode had solved all their troubles, the remaining seven officers on the upper line in charge of defense renewed their efforts to drive off the enemy who stayed beside the burning wreckage to finish the fight.

Traver took his time for a single shot, and fired, scoring one of the bird-like creatures in the knee, bringing it to a pained crouch before he fired at its newly exposed torso with a quick double tap of his trigger. The first shot impacted and appeared to only daze the thing, then the second hit and knocked onto its back where it lay unmoving.

One of the smaller aliens saw him and raised its own weapon to return fire, then the tell tale fire of an Avenger Assault rifle rang out and the alien dropped onto its stomach, its back riddled with entry wounds from the hail of rounds.

The other aliens quickly turned, raised their weapons and foolishly presented their backs to the officers, there were three however that didn't and it didn't take Travers much to figure out they were the commanding units in this group. Tall, seven or eight foot, quad jaw mouths and from what he had seen up close from the one that got Jiles, muscled and fast.

They also had shields that took a fair amount of beating, far beyond the scope of Kinetic barriers that any personal in any known military had, even then, these weren't any species either. _Unless… that's what Volus looked like under their suits? _He thought about the little stubby aliens.

The shielded aliens barked and growled some orders to the other aliens, and soon they turned to the direction and began to move into the city, two of the shielded aliens roared at the sight of something before they both drew identical swords of energy, each glowed with a soft blue hue.

Travers wondered what pissed them off, they seemed much more aggressive now then when their attack started, but before he could dive too deeply into his thoughts he heard the rattle of Avenger fire before one of the sword wielding aliens turned invisible and then he lost track of it, but that wasn't as amazing as the next sight, around the corner came two figures, each wearing the standard issue Alliance Onyx armor.

"The Alliance!"

Travers barely heard his fellow officer cheer, he was two focused on the two marines who were charging the enemy line with their rifles firing in short controlled bursts.

The stubby aliens who lagged behind the retreat order turned, shouted and fired their weapons at the approaching marines, Travers astonishment only increased when the two began to dodge and weave with unnatural quickness and finesse that he had seen only in Asari Commando vids.

The shorter of the two rolled to avoid a larger green bolt, if he had to guess the aliens could charge their weapons to form more powerful shots, and the marine knew that too from the quick dodge, rolling to their feet he watched as stubby alien was pelted with fire, barely hitting the ground before the marine was on the move again.

"Holy shit…" Travers tore his eyes away from the shorter one to watch the other fight with one of the shielded, sword wielding aliens in hand to hand combat, which was… intense. "Who… are these guys?"

"Must be those N7..." another murmured.

Travers could only nod.

* * *

Tom grunted and ducked low to avoid the swing of the deadly plasma blade, then bringing his fist up he buried it into the elite's stomach, the shields sparked and collapsed under the powerful blow and the elite sputtered with a cough of blood and saliva. Seizing the moment Tom with his free hand gripped the handle of his combat knife and with a small _shink! _The knife whipped up and into the Elite's skull.

It twitched then fell, taking Tom's knife with it. Letting the body fall Tom glanced around, "Lucy, on your toes, there's another out here…" he said into the com.

Lucy replied with a nod as she snapped a dying Grunt's neck, there was just the briefest of shifting in the air around her and she ducked lower, avoiding the Elite's attack, spinning around and up she rammed her rifle butt on the side of the Elite's head, snapping it to the side and staggering it.

She didn't buy the white armored Ultra elite enough time to fix it's stance before she was on it again, spinning she brought her foot up in a roundhouse kick to its mid section, knocking the Elite back a few steps before she turned to face it, bringing up her Avenger in one smooth motion she fired and watched as the Elite danced with the impact of the rounds through its armor, her kick to its stomach and hit to the head having downed its shields and left it exposed to her rounds.

It fell to the ground in a crumbled, bloody mess and she gave the all clear.

"This is SPARTAN-B292, civilian area secure for the moment," Tom said into the com, glancing around the surrounding area. "Lucy, form up on me."

The mute Spartan nodded and moved to Tom's side. The pair made their way towards the front entrance of the dome structure where they had seen the civilians hold their position.

The door slowly opened and there stood several black armored police forces, their pistols at their sides and grateful smiles on their faces, slowly, the sergeant that Tom could see moved forward and saluted.

"That was some… impressive stuff there, marine, thanks for the save." The sarge smiled.

"Just doing our job, Sergeant, do you have wounded?" Tom asked briskly, getting to the point with a quick salute.

The sergeant paused, then nodded slowly. "Yeah, we do… plenty of them and not enough medical staff," he shifted on his feet, rubbing the back of his neck. "May I ask when evacuation is coming?"

Tom cocked his head. "Evacuation? Sergeant, there is no evacuation…" he said simply, cracking his neck. "We're here to kill everyone of these things and take back this colony."

The sergeant paled slightly.

Travers however only thought one thing.

_How fucked am I?_

* * *

"Jorge… is that really you?" Linda said, standing and for once, at a total loss of what to say.

The larger Spartan nodded, his dented and scarred armor glinted slightly as the man hefted up his machinegun slightly. "It is, but we can catch up later, right now, there's Covenant to kill."

Linda wanted to say more, but nodded. "Agreed."

They needed to kill the Covenant first and then she could question her old friend. She turned, grabbed her rifle from the floor and checked it over quickly before turning to Jorge. "Your still a higher rank, sir."

"I'll take point then, cover my six with your magic."

And then, as if no time had passed between the two, they were a team again.

Linda smiled in her helmet, laying belly flat on the roof and looking through the scope of her rifle. "Blue one, this is Blue two, I've retrieved Red Five." she said into the com, knowing Red Five was Jorge's old title.

"Confirm?" Fred replied back, clearly disbelieving as he strolled into view of the dome, following Tom inside.

"Red Five here, squad leader, been awhile, eh? Gotta admit, never thought I'd see you lot again…" Jorge said into the com, moving down the building's stairs with surprising speed. "I might need a briefing on the mission details though."

Fred almost smiled. "Understood, current situation; transport is down and interplanetary communications are jammed, we have to reconnect with command and call in WINTER CONTINGENCY while ensuring the civilian casualties remain minimal, understood?"

"Understood, Blue One, over and out." Jorge closed the com, walked out into the street and towards Fred's position.

* * *

**SSV-**_**Normandy**_** V2, 0100 hours.**

Kelly and Mark sat inside the briefing room going over the mission debriefing with Shepard and the other members of the ground team. It was a task that most of them looked new to, reporting their moves to Shepard and recalling small details that Shepard deemed critical.

But not to Kelly or Mark, they relished the debriefings because it meant they had completed a mission, that they had won. "I am very impressed with your performance," Shepard said finally, the data on the mission going over his datapad. "No resulting injuries, success rate at one hundred and from the images and reports I've gotten, maximum fear factor."

Kelly felt her lips twitch behind her visor.

"I'll forward these to Dr. Halsey and she can see them, since she asked me to keep her updated on your doings," Shepard added, putting the pad down and saluting. "You two are dismissed, I'll call when we have new orders."

Mark and Kelly snapped off simultaneous salutes before turning and marching out of the comms room.

They entered the main CIC area and Kelly was about to enter the elevator with Mark.

"Kelly!"

The Spartans paused and turned, though Kelly much more sharply then Mark because it was her name that was called. Or so she thought, but when she turned Kelly saw it was Tali had called miss Yeoman.

A small sprinkle of annoyance sparked in Kelly. "Right… the other Kelly." she said dryly.

There was a soft sound of amusement from Mark beside her, making the Spartan-II turn to him and gently nudge him with her MJOLNIR armored wrist. He stumbled slightly, then corrected himself and stayed silent.

The Quarian moved over to the human counsellor and said. "Have you seen Shepard? I've been looking for him."

Chambers nodded, gesturing to the elevator. "He went up to the captain's deck, Tali." she smiled. "Go get em," she teased when the Quarian walked towards it.

She grinned when said Quarian moved quicker.

Tali stepped inside the elevator and momentarily got lost in her thoughts about the Commander.

"Main barracks, please."

She jumped, turned and realised she had occupated the same elevator as the "Spartans" in which she had heard about from Miranda and Grunt. The way they told it these were some very dangerous individuals, like "Shepard on a good killing spree" deadly as Grunt had so creatively put it.

She gulped. "W-Wha?" she cursed her stammer.

"Barracks," the shorter one said, Mark, was it? "The button?"

"Oh, Keela…" Tali tapped her visor in a face palm gesture before pressing the Barracks button and cursing herself for being so tense around the two, they were allies.

"Thank you." But, she was still tense with how quiet they were in the presence of others and that was just creepy to her, Thane was mysteriously quiet. These Spartans were… deathly quiet, as if planning their next foes demise.

Somehow, Tali was sure it was just that.

"We're at the Captain's deck," Mark said suddenly, causing the Quarian to jump again for the second time that day.

"Oh!" Tali said, then moved out of the elevator quickly, the doors closed and the pair were alone again.

"What an odd girl," Kelly said simply, crossing her arms.

Mark shrugged.

"Ever the stimulating conversationist…"

Mark smiled under his helmet, then blinked when his coms came online. "Spartan-G254 and Spartan-087, report to the communications room once again, you have a transmission from Dr. Catherine Halsey. Double time."

"Never a dull moment, huh?" Kelly muttered, pressing the CIC button. Mark shrugged again and the elevator descended back down to the CIC level.

By the time they reached the coms room, there was an image of "The Chief" Mendez on the screen and Dr. Halsey, the ladder sitting behind a desk with various datapads scattered on it while Mendez stood.

Kelly and Mark snapped off salutes and stood at attention.

Mendez nodded. "At ease, Spartans." he returned the salute and the three dropped their salutes. "You might be curious as to why we've contacted you early, with only a week aboard the Normandy, its because we have need of your talents in a…" Mendez paused, as if searching for the right word.

"A special training session," Halsey said from her spot, giving the Spartans a brief smile. "I have already gone over the details with Admiral Hackett and Commander Shepard, they have approved it."

Mendez nodded. "Yes, thank you, doctor." he then refocused his attention on the Spartans. "We also need to test out the SPI Mark III armor variant, with only one produced, we want you," he focused on Mark. "Spartan-G254, to test it."

If Mark weren't wearing his SPI helmet they would have seen the excited smile that graced his face. "It would be an honor, sir." his voice remained neutral.

"Good, see you in four hours." Mendez saluted and Halsey smiled again before the screen went out and the connection was terminated.

* * *

**Amaterasu Colony, Blue team. 0130 hours.**

"Blue one," Tom whispered into the com as he crouched beneath the destroyed hull of a large carrier vehicle that shrouded the Spartan-III in shadows as his Avenger trained on the pair of Grunts waddling around a drink dispenser. "Blue three and four here, we've encountered the enemy, neutralizing."

There was the crack of two Avenger shots and the Grunts dropped in almost perfect unison, a neck and heart shot. Lucy was good.

"Neutralized," Tom added. "Moving forward to target location."

"_Understood, Blue three, continue as needed. Blue one, out._"

Tom moved from the wreck, stood and watched as Lucy jumped down from the second story of another building to join him. He gave her a nod, which she returned and they proceeded down the street, their bodies shrouded in the shadows cast by the buildings in the setting sun. Avengers raised and ready to fire they scanned the area.

Tom reviewed the mission again, Fred was to lead the remaining police forces, Linda and Jorge on a direct firefight route to draw the enemies attention so that he and Lucy may sneak into the enemy encampment and plant several high explosives along the perimeter to cause a greater distraction for the final push.

And to clear the way to the communications tower for Tom and Lucy, their real objective.

Lucy tapped his shoulder and when he looked to her, she pointed to a window on the building to their right, on the third floor was a silhouette. It moved as if it knew they had seen it and they quickly moved into the building after it.

If it was a scout and it revealed their position, they would be overwhelmed in moments so close to their main force.

* * *

Four Grunts waddled into Fred's view and he raised his Avenger to take aim, but not shots. He saved that for Linda, who still had not positioned herself for the assault, but that was alright. He and the offensive force had the element of surprise on their side coupled with the added firepower of a heavy machinegun being wielded by Jorge-052.

Jorge's appearance was both a shock and surprised to Fred, but there would be time for questions and greetings later, right now there was a mission at hand and they needed to focus.

Linda's light winked green three times. She was set and ready to down the enemy guards ahead and the guards on towers down another block.

Fred zoomed in on the area, there were Covenant barriers put up and larger barriers made of tipped over vehicles. Mounted plasma cannons were mounted strategically around the area, but their attendants were less then attentive, lazy and sloppy at best.

But, it was the seven plus elites that patrolled and stood at guard across the front of the camp that made Fred nervous, unlike Grunts or Jackals, these seven foot tall warriors could go toe to toe with Spartans on equal ground and win. But what really irked Fred was the sniper seated at the very end of the block on a well concealed position where their rifles couldn't reach reliably to down it.

And after all that, they still had to get to the center of the camp and destroy those Anti-Air plasma cannons.

Linda would make that her first shot, then the elites which would provide the opening for their charge and would allow Tom and Lucy their window to execute phase two of the battle plan.

"Linda, fire when ready," Fred whispered into the com, then switched the coms to open. "Teams, be ready to engage hostiles on my mark."

There was the crack of a rifle and the sniper on the building dropped.

"Mark!"

Fred sprang from his cover, Avenger raised and roaring out three round bursts into the nearby Grunts, downing them with cries of pain and surprise as the Spartan rushed forward. Beside him Jorge let loose with the heavy machinegun, tearing the enemy down and leaving them seeking cover from the barrage.

The elites quickly tried to organize a counter response when one of the blue armored minors shield's sparked and faded when Linda pierced its skull, it crumbled and before the body could hit the ground another joined it in death. A tribute to Linda's skill and speed.

The police forces behind him opened fire, scoring the area with a sea of rounds, the Grunts sloppily returned fire, others just hid and otherwise attempted to run. Movement caught Fred's eye and he looked to the side in time to see a ghostly white armored elite with an energy sword lunging at him.

The plasma blade fell and then Linda's round slammed into the side of it's armored head, snapping its neck to the side and letting the blade fall from it's grasp. Fred caught it and stored it onto his thigh for later use against the enemy, which was now as a second jumped from the floor above him, bringing the blade up he parried the strike by the second white armored Ultra.

The elite and Fred stared the other down for a moment, then they broke apart and the Elite brought it's foot up and delivered a powerful kick to his stomach, sending him back. Taking the initiative the elite sprang forward with the blade for a thrust.

Fred twisted his body mid fall, feeling the blade shatter his shield, melt his armor on his left side rip area and blister his skin with immense heat. He slashed up with his own blade, the elite roared as it lost a portion of his helmet and two mandibles as it stepped back, the rest of its helmet falling with it.

Fred corrected himself and stood at the ready again, the elite growled, then leapt to the side and avoided a round from Linda, this elite was clearly an a tier of its own as Fred raised his Avenger and fired, trailing after the Elite's long strides as it moved for cover.

He contemplated giving chase, but several plasma bolts from two Grunts made him dive behind a wrecked speeder to allow his shields to charge again, the burning in his side was also a reason that he didn't want to chase that particular elite. He paused when another person joined him behind the speeder.

"Damnit, sir? What are we supposed to do? We're pinned down here!" the officer said, adjusting his helmet.

Fred had to agree. Tom and Lucy hadn't set off the explosives and even then they hadn't reported in yet. He checked his mission timer and saw it was about time for Tom and Lucy to be nearing the encampment to set up the explosives.

A rocket streaked from the fourth story of a building window, struck a plasma cannon and destroyed it, killing the Grunt with it. Fred followed, and saw a civilian holding a rocket launcher, wounded by the gash on his forehead, but clearly in a fighting mood.

Soon, more joined him from the surrounding buildings.

_A small militia?_ Fred thought, then nodded. "We have reinforcements, all teams, press forward." he ordered into the com, taking the Covenant's surprise to his advantage and sounding the charge. Avengers, Predators and rockets fired at the Covenant position, even the elites were forced to take cover from the explosive projectiles.

When one stepped out to fire on Jorge, Linda took his shields, and his arm, out. Roaring in defiance the elite fell back, blood gathering on the ground as it fired its plasma rifle while laying back. Fred finished it as he ran by.

The encampment lit up with several small explosives _inside_ it and the plasma turret fire briefly paused.

"Take them!" Fred barked into the com.

The turrets were quickly taken care of.

Fred observed the camp, smoke billowed from the area around the anti air guns and the militia began to leave their respective hiding places, each looking as battle tested as the last.

They stopped in front of Fred, apparently recognizing him as the leader. Jorge stepped up beside him.

"Thanks for the help, we were thinking that we were on our own out here since we got cut off from the main police forces," the leader of the Militia said, giving a grin. "I'm Kurt, these are Josh, York, Valerie and Connor…" he gestured to his militiamen.

"Lieutenant Commander, Spartan-105," Fred introduced himself on instinct. "Alliance, special operations." He ignored the slightly feeling of loss when he realised this man shared one of his fellow Spartan's names.

"I can tell, that armor your wearing certainly looks special…" Kurt said, looking Fred over.

"_Blue one, this is Blue three, we're at the coms tower now_," Tom's voice crackled over the com. "_Give us a few minutes to get interplanetary communications up_."

"Understood, Blue three, we'll-" Fred stopped when the ground rumbled and then sound of a mechanized joint reached his ears, turning he was faced with a single Scarab making its way over the building tops towards them. "Double time, Blue three, we have company." Fred cut the com and shouted. "All teams! Fall back!"

He turned, then sprinted down the other way, they couldn't take down a scarab with a battalion of tanks, let alone small ground teams.

The scarab charged its main gun.

Fred opened the com. "Into the side alleys!" he broke off from the street and went down an alley, two other following him as the Scarab fired its main cannon, burning a path of glass down the street.

He just barely caught an officer and militiaman being vaporized as the beam passed them, heat washing over him and biting at his skin, looking up he caught several pieces of debris coming down on him from the weakened building top before his vision went black.

* * *

**End of chapter 11**

**I am terribly sorry for the lack of updating, but after rereading Ghosts of Onyx for the ninth time, I felt inspired and so, here it is. Forgive me?**


	13. Battle of Amaterasu part 2

**In Infinitum**

**Chapter 12: Battle of Amaterasu, part 2.**

**Amaterasu Colony, Blue team. 0130 hours.**

Jorge-052 leapt into an alley to avoid the Scarab's main cannon as it travelled along the street, this was bad. They didn't have the firepower to fight a Scarab heavy tank and win, "Just not my day…" he muttered, hefting up his machinegun and moving into the alley, hoping to gain some distance between himself and the walking tank.

He turned the corner then opened fire in time to stop the small group of Grunts and one Jackal cold with a rain of lead. Stepping over their bodies he continued on. "Blue one, you there squad leader?"

Static greeted him and he tried a new channel. "Blue two, you have visual on blue one?"

Linda was silent for a moment. "No," she paused. "Searching."

Jorge really wasn't all that assured, but he crushed back his worry in favor keeping his wits about him in these close quarters where he needed them in case an Elite decided to try for him with an Energy Sword. A scenario Jorge didn't want to find himself in anytime soon.

As if on cue the Spartan-II caught movement at the edge of his vision, he raised his chain gun in time to watch it be bisected by the glowing blade of an Energy sword that was being wielded by the un-helmeted Ultra that Fred had nearly beheaded.

Raising his foot he kicked it in the gut and forced it back several feet, where it kneeled, then stood to meet Jorge's eyes.

It growled, orange eyes livid with rage and deathly focus. "Demon filth…" the energy blade raised slightly and it's grip tightened around the handle.

Jorge glanced at his destroyed machine gun, then back up to the elite. He was in for a tough fight since the only thing he had in terms of melee combat was his fists, so it was adapt or die time. _Just like home, _he thought.

The Elite moved forward, thrusting the blade to try and impale the Spartan, who sidestepped a moment before the point of the blade pierced him, grabbing the Ultra's wrist Jorge slammed the blade into the wall behind him down to the fingers of the Elite, who roared and let go.

Jorge then grunted in pain when the Elite buried it's knee in his side, before the Spartan could counter there was a powerful arm around his waist and the Elite lifted him back and tossed the Spartan over into the air and against the other alley wall.

The Ultra turned, growling at Jorge as it advanced on the Spartan, who waited and then struck when it was close enough by jabbing it in the knee, making it kneel. Not stopping there Jorge raised his fist as he himself stood, adding more force behind an already powerful uppercut to the Elite's remaining mandibles.

The Elite lifted off the ground and landed on its back, curling its legs in and then springing out to plant both it's feet into the advancing Spartan's stomach, causing Jorge to lean over and cover his stomach with an arm while the elite rolled to its feet and growled.

_This is one tough bastard… _Jorge thought grumpily, his stomach hurt from that last attack.

"I am your end, Demon…" The Elite's tone was menacing, even by Elite standards. With a hiss its Energy Daggers activated over it's wrists.

Jorge groaned.

* * *

The Scarab tank continued on its way over Linda's position, the Spartan hidden in the wreckage of a destroyed airspeeder, it provided her excellent cover and she liked it that way, especially since she had lost contact with Fred and the others. She hated radio silence.

"Blue one, come in." Linda waited for the a reply.

"_Blue one here_," Fred broke into a small cough. "_I took a fall, what's the situation_?"

"We're in deep, Scarab patrolling the area, we don't have the weapons to bring it down," She paused. "Awaiting further orders."

"_Understood, what's the Scarab's current location_?"

Linda paused, moving around under her cover to watch the Scarab move. "On route to the comms tower, I think they know what we're trying to do now," her eyes narrowed and she sighted through the rifle scope. Zooming on the elites and grunts riding the Scarab she said. "Fortified as well."

There was silence over the com a moment. "_Alright, I'll inform Tom and Lucy, meanwhile, track that Scarab, I'm going to order them to call in the WINTERCONTINGENCY_."

"Understood," Linda said, nodding briefly.

"_And Linda_."

"Yeah?"

"_Be careful_," Linda smiled ever so slightly and the com went out, her face went neutral again and she shuffled out from under her cover, stood and ran after the Scarab. She needed to distract it somehow to buy Tom and Lucy time to get out after they send the message.

* * *

"Lucy, come on! We have to go!" Tom shouted as he dodged a volley of plasma fire from the elite squad down the hall that was currently sporting plasma rifles and a single, deadly accurate carbine. They had been, to Tom's displeasure, too slow to get out of the tower in time after sending the message and now they were pinned down until reinforcements came.

"_Blue one here, Tom, you and Lucy need to bug out double time, you have a Scarab targeting the coms tower_," Fred's tone was dire. Which put Tom even further on edge.

"Understood, me and Lucy will be out of here before that thing reaches us, over," the com closed and turned to Lucy. "New plan, we're going out the window!" he said, face serious.

Lucy stared mutely before she nodded. They both turned and bolted for the window, it was now or nothing. With a three shots into the glass to weaken it before they thrust off with their legs as strongly as they could. The glass shattered and the flew out in time to see the Scarab's main gun sheer through the lower half of the tower, it groaned and tilted opposite of the falling Spartans.

Tom looked to Lucy, gripped her hand and held out a frag, they were twenty-four stories off the ground and this had to work. "Hang on!" he tossed the grenade a few seconds after pulling the pin, the device exploded and the force of the blast knocked Tom and Lucy towards the slowly falling structure. They hit the side and soon were sliding along the wall with their armor creating sparks due to the friction.

"We have to slow our fall!" Tom shouted as he and Lucy held tightly at their connected hands.

Lucy watched their descent, floor and windows passed them while the Scarab tank lumbered away, apparently believing its task complete. She quickly drew her knife and with a small biting of her lip, a squeeze of his hand she jammed the knife down on the slide.

They stalled. Tom jerked forward, but still held Lucy's hand even as she gave a pained cry of agony, soon the tower they on hit the ground and scattered debris, chattering Tom's teeth. Soon his mind cleared and he saw Lucy clutching his hand tightly, her other arm was limp at her side and he could tell it had been disconnected from their sudden stop.

But they were alive, that was enough for now.

"Lucy, you alright?" Tom asked asked as he moved nearer to her.

She nodded and let go of his hand before padding her shoulder, he didn't have to see her face to know she winced.

"Don't worry…" Tom said soothingly before he opened his com. "Blue one, Scarab headed back your way, Lucy is injured and I'm firing nothing," he and Lucy had lost their weapons in the fall and slide. "orders?""_Find a hole to hold up in, we'll evade the Scarab best we can until the Alliance arrives with reinforcements_," Fred's reply was swift, but relieved. "_Heads up!_" there was a crash, then the com went out.

Tom looked to Lucy.

* * *

"Heads up!" Fred yelled before he jumped to the side in time to dodge the debris from the now three storey building, course before the Scarab fired its cannon it had been taller. Fred looked at his group, two militia men. One holding a missile launcher and another a simple handgun, a Predator. "Close…" he muttered.

"What are we going to do?" One of them asked, his left temple was bleeding, her was covered in dirt and scared out of his wits. "We can't fight that thing!"

"We have to wait until the Alliance shows up, hopefully soon." Fred replied with reassurance, he needed to keep these people calm.

"If they get here before we're charcoal…" the other muttered, a younger male with defeated eyes.

Fred had to agree.

* * *

Doctor Catherine Halsey wasn't an easily startled woman, she was quite icy when she wanted to be. But what she had just been told sent her into shivers and turned her blood to ice. "What did you say?" she asked, mouth slightly agape.

"Your Spartan team called in a WINTER CONTINGENCY at Amaterasu colony moments ago, from what you explained to us. This means they've made Covenant contact, does this mean they followed you here to our universe?" Hackett replied on the vid screen, his hands were steepled in front of his face, giving him an air of thoughtfulness.

"I…It…" Halsey stopped herself, she needed to calm down. If the Covenant were here then it wasn't lost yet, this universe had to have them outnumbered and gunned. "I don't know, it would seem." she finally said, forcing her nerves to cool and her voice to not shake.

"What are your suggestions?"

"Destroy them, Admiral, Destroy each and every last one of them!" Halsey almost screamed. Those monsters wouldn't take this universe too, not while she had anything to say about it.

"Very well, Doctor." the screen closed and Halsey released a breath. Turning she marched over to her private console, logged in and opened a channel to Mendez. "Chief… I need to see you, it's Covenant related."

"_Yes, ma'am_." If Mendez was surprised, he didn't sound it. "_Be there in three_." the com closed and Halsey leaned back into her seat.

She felt a headache coming on. This could already be falling apart, the Covenant had followed them, were she and her Spartans ever going to be rid of those zealous aliens who desired nothing but humanity's utter extinction? Were she and her Spartans cursed with endless conflict? She was beginning to think so.

"John, we really could use some of your luck right about now…" she mumbled, feeling herself miss her favorite Spartan. Subject-117.

Mendez arrived a lot faster then she predicted, her door slid open and in marched "The Chief" with his newly pressed and fitted Alliance uniform, Halsey admitted he looked dashing. "Chief, good time." she said, sitting straight and putting on her military face. "Fred's team called in a Winter Contingency on Amaterasu."

Mendez nodded. "I thought so, what is the Admiral planning?"

"I'm not sure, but… Mendez, if the Covenant followed us here, I want your opinion… and the truth, what would we do?" she asked, almost timidly. She had to be, she couldn't outright tell him that she was afraid of the Covenant, dying and of watching her Spartans die. The last of her "children".

"Doctor," Mendez began calmly, his face unchanging from that stony look her favored. He reached a hand over her desk and placed it on her shoulder. "We'll be fine here, I don't think the Covenant planned to end up here like we did, they'll be just as confused as we were."

Halsey couldn't smile, they needed to make plans. "Alright…" she sighed. "I should contact Shepard…" she mumbled.

"Maybe." Mendez stood, "I'm going to Operations, they'll need to know more about the Covenant if they're going to fight them." he stared, saluted and left. Halsey turned to her console and just stared blankly at the screen.

* * *

Fred bolted down the alleyway, the two militiamen behind him trying to keep up with his slowed pace. They had been running from the Covenant ground forces using hit-and-run tactics, since any prolonged firefight ended with them calling the Scarab in to fry them. It had nearly succeeded as well and Fred wasn't risking another chance like that for the Covenant.

"Oh shit!" Fred was about to ask when he noticed exactly what the Militiaman's curse was about. infront of them was the Scarab tank on a few buildings tops, gun charged and shining to fire. Fred glanced to either side, the alley was long and no way inside the buildings for cover. They were dead.

A deafening boom sounded and a small beam of blue lightning pierced the Scarab from left to right, clean through by the looks of it. Fred watched as the massive mechanical tank sputtered, the cannon died and exploded, it fell a burning mass of plasma and steel where it stood. Little more then a corpse of the great threat it had been.

Fred looked higher and sat the culprit of the attack. A small fighter sized vehicle swooped by, white and yellow in color.

A voice broke the com silence. "_Attention, Spartan Blue Team leader, this is Cerberus Frigate CSS-Valor of the Sky, Captain Valless, speaking. What's your situation_?" there was a the cool female voice of a veteran captain if Fred had ever heard it.

"Ma'am, we've ground hostiles across the city, Enemy Anti-Air is down and so is the Scarab, reinforcements would be appreciated." Fred replied. He wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth here, this Cerberus Frigate offered assistance and took out the Scarab tank, they could use it. "Over."

"Roger, Spartan. A transport shuttle and a bombing run are headed down to you and your troops positions, it's going to be danger close, but don't worry, we'll smoke your baddies to ash," there was a smirk in the sentence that made Fred shiver.

Overhead he could hear the distant sound of thrusters burners. Fred turned his coms on and said. "Blue team! Bunker down! Ordnance coming in hot!" he moved to the militiamen. "Get down!"

The fighters, roughly seven, flew past overhead and with them each dropped a small canister in straight lines. They impacted the ground and exploded in a blaze of fire, incendiary bombs. The Covenant forces nearest to the explosions futilely ran for cover before they were engulfed by the flames, their shields died on contact from the extreme heat and they screamed in agony as they were set ablaze.

Fred felt the heat wash over him. But it didn't engulf them, their alley was left unscorched. An accurate firebombing, impressing the Spartan was hard to do. And these fighters certainly did it. With a small sigh he stood, opened his com and said. "Blue team, sound off."

"_Linda here, I'm alright, heated, but alright_."

"_Tom here, I've got Lucy with me, we're alright_."

Fred waited, and waited, until. "Jorge, report?" he said, more urgent.

* * *

Jorge staggered back, his left bicep armor was heated to red with a new gash from the super heated plasma blade of the Ultra's daggers. "Damn you're persistent…" the S-II muttered as he watched the Elite stand again. "Don't suppose we can talk this out?" he offered with a cheeky half smile.

"Your death will be swift, Demon," the Elite growled, advancing, even as the firebombs had gone off it hadn't stopped its assault on the Spartan, no. as if the fire fuelled it further it had only increased its ferocity. "I will be your demise and your agonized cry will be the lullaby of my dreams!"

Jorge blinked. "That had.. Nothing to do with what I was saying." he ducked low when it went for his neck with a spring forward, he brought up his armored gauntlet and buried it into its Stomach, or he would have it not caught his wrist and countered with a jump and its foot connected with the side of his helmeted her. Still, Jorge saw stars when the kick connected.

"Damn…" Jorge growled and lifted his head. Only to be greeted by the other foot of the Elite, making the Spartan stagger back into a wall, not finished or letting the Spartan catch his win the Ultra bolted forward and brought an energy dagger into Jorge's right hand, pinning it to the wall and making the Spartan yell in pain.

"Yes, scream, Demon…" The Ultra growled, Jorge raised his fist to its neck and gripped. But the elite buried its own fist into the Spartan's solar plexus, emptying Jorge's lungs of air and forcing the Spartan's grip to release. "I have studied your human anatomy," the Elite growled maliciously. "I will plunge this blade into your heart!" he reared back his free dagger.

"Squidhead!" The Ultra looked up in time to see a brief flash of green before its vision went white with pain as Linda fell from the building top, using her sniper as a makeshift bludgeon weapon, holding it by the barrel she had brought it down on the Elite's head.

To her surprise the Ultra roared in pain, stepped back and renewed fury it charged her. She spun on her heel, ducking its swing and sweeping its leg from under it while grabbing its hand and tossing it down the alley where it skid into the street. She ended her "flashy" move by standing straight and aiming her rifle at its head.

She fired, it leaned right and bolted forward, daggers lived as its eyes. This Elite was something else, she fired again, this time at its center mass, it jumped, curled its legs and the round missed, she pressed the trigger again and heard her weapon click empty. She growled in her throat before he rifle was bisected by the creature before her, she raised her fist and punched its cheek.

It responded by slashing across her chest, she barely leaned away to have her armor skimmed with a red heated line across it. She stood up, fixed her stance and said. "Jorge, you alright?"

"Yeah, watch it, this bastard's tough…" her fellow S-II warned, nursing his injured hand.

"I know, he took a hit from me with my weapon to the head…" she muttered, raising her fists into a more defensive posture when she saw the Elite crack its neck.

"Another Demon, the Gods post you before me to slay you!" the Ultra proclaimed zealously. "And I! Ural 'Tsamuee shall not disappoint them!" the Elite bolted forward again with killer intent, but it stopped short when its shields suddenly sparked and died. It looked confused, then two darts implanted themselves in its neck from behind.

The elite turned, saw two white armored humans and growled. "Humans… interfere…" it drawled, staggering and leaning on the wall next to it. "My…honor…" it fell to the ground, unconscious, sedated. The two soldiers moved forward with their weapons trained on the fallen Ultra.

They got to it, then one kicked the thing lightly in the side. The Elite didn't wake. "We have package secured," one of them said, ignoring the Spartans. "Tell the Captain to send pickup, he's big one…"

The other didn't ignore them. "Hello, I'm Private Varone, Cerberus Commando division," the man offered his hand to Linda. When she didn't take it he awkwardly retracted it, "We were sent down to lend you a hand, are you injured?"

"Only slightly." She said quickly, turning to Jorge. "He needs more help then me,"

"Yes, we have a medic, bring him."

She gathered Jorge, who was now looking more weak then he had put on during the fight. "That Elite take a lot out of you?" she asked.

"Yeah, glad you showed up, was at the end of me rope, I was." Jorge gave a half smile behind his visor.

* * *

**End of chapter 12**

**Well, there it is, if it seems rushed, it kinda is. But I felt I had to get this out within a week or I'll never finish it, so, questions? Comments? Also, I was wondering if anyone would like to help me keep this thing moving by providing ideas and such, if interested. PM me, I'm sure we can work something out.**

**PS. Anyone feel like adding me on Live sometime for some ME3 demo massacring?**


	14. Three Headed Dog Cerberus

**In Infinitum**

**Chapter 13: Three Headed Dog; Cerberus.**

By the time Fred, Linda, Tom, Lucy and Jorge had regrouped after the battle of the colony. This group calling themselves Cerberus had gathered up what dead Covenant remains they could, weapons and even a half functional Banshee flier. To Fred's surprise they even air lifted the destroyed Wraith tanks!

All of this made Fred curious. They said they were Cerberus and they were clearly a military organization, but they never claimed to be allies of the Alliance. When Fred asked one of the ground forces in charge, he had responded "We're allies of Humanity, Spartan. All I'm permitted to say at this time." that eased Fred's mind to an extent, but it wasn't a yes.

He watched as they loaded up the last of the Covenant vehicle wreckage, a ruined Ghost and fully operational Spectre. The collection team had been particularly excited looking at the last one. Fred sighed and looked to the rest of his team. Jorge was receiving medical attention from one of the medics, as was Lucy for her shoulder. Tom was standing next to his Fred, watching the Cerberus people work.

"Sir, thoughts?" Tom finally spoke as the transport vessel Cerberus was using the take the bodies and salvage from the colony.

"Collecting samples for experimentation would be my guess," Fred replied simply. He had seen this all before during the Human/Covenant war, the Spartans had been routinely asked to gather whatever Covenant devices they could carry, mostly weapons and armor from fallen Covenant Grunts and Elites.

"That would make sense." Tom nodded in agreement. "Covenant is a whole new can of aliens for them I guess,"

"Yeah," Fred agreed, watching the Transport ascend into the Heavens. "What's Lucy and Jorge's status?" he asked turning to the younger Spartan.

"Green sir, Lucy's shoulder was just dislocated and Jorge's hand suffered some plasma burns when the dagger pierced it, medics says he needs a full medical facility, but for now he is in no immediate danger, sir." Tom's report was quick and curt. Something was bothering him.

"Is that all, Tom?" Fred asked, staring at his second-in-command through the golden tinted visor.

Tom visibly hesitated, his head had risen to speak but no words came out, finally. "Yes, sir."

Fred knew the younger was bothered by something, but he would wait for Tom to approach him when he was ready. "Alright, tell the team to prep for dustoff, the last pocket of Covenant resistance will be at their command center, likely the hull of the Supercarrier that had been sheared when the slipspace bomb went off." he said.

Tom nodded, turned and walked towards the others.

Before Fred could sink back into his thoughts the ground shook and a deafening _Boom _echoed across the city streets. The Spartan turned to direction of the noise and saw a large plume of smoke in the distance, in the forest outside the city. He was about to open a com channel to ask Linda what it was from her perch on the building across from thems rooftop when a beam of yellow streaked down from high orbit and struck the smoke cloud.

It scattered and the same shaking boom echoed out again, followed by another plume of smoke. This happened three more times before the beam stopped falling and all was silent in the air.

"Linda, report, what was that?" Fred asked over the com, waiting for the Sniper's reply.

"Orbital strike, judging by the plume, it hit the Covenant cruiser hard, should we go search for survivors?" replied Linda.

Fred frowned behind his visor, turning to the Cerberus Captain. "You called in a orbital bombing on the enemy?" it was a good plan, if a little quick to be used. When did they even paint the target?

"Yes, I felt it necessary to ensure total victory, don't worry Spartan, we're good at what we do," The woman grinned crookedly before her com beeped and she raised her hand to her ear. "Go ahead…" She listened, nodded once then said. "Damn, we're being pulled out," she saluted. "Until next time Spartan, keep up the good fight. Humanity depends on you." she turned to her men.

"Pack it up people! We're pulling out five minutes ago!" she moved towards her shuttle, stepping inside and turning to the Fred before the shuttle door closed and the Captain ascended towards orbit. Fred watched the shuttle go, then turned when there was a sharp call from Tom.

He turned, saw Lucy being held down by the medic that she was being looked over, body in violent spasms. He rushed over, "Status?"

The medic looked up at him in a sense of urgency. "She's having an allergic reaction to the painkiller we used! Very violent, we can treat her but we need to get to our ship ASAP!" he looked up at him after a glance at her. "Permission to take her aboard the _Valor_, sir?"

Fred frowned further. What should he do? The answer should have been obvious, these men were military and were looking out for his team, yes. But, this Cerberus rubbed Fred the wrong way, the very wrong way that sent off so many lights in Fred's mind it screamed "Hell no!" over and over.

"Sir! Lucy needs help!" Tom's armored hand reached up onto Fred's soldier, an emotional response. Then again, Fred could understand, Tom and Lucy had been together since the beginning… they were more than friends. They were Spartans, family.

Fred yielded. "Permission granted. Save her, doc."

The medic nodded, turning to some soldiers nearby and quickly ordering them to gather up Lucy onto a stretcher for transport. They boarded a medical shuttle, even then she was violently twitching in the straps. Fred was reminded of the Augmentation process, the pain… the drawbacks… the fatalities.

The shuttle began to take off towards orbit, the bombers were leaving too, the soldiers and spooks had all gathered everything not bolted down were taking off into orbit, they weren't going to leave additional forces planetside to catch stragglers? Or was Fred missing something?

"-_Red! Blue One! This-_" Static took the com over a moment "-_Kett! Cerberus…In system! Be…Ert_!"

Fred opened the com. "Say again, Admiral? I did not copy."

"_Blue One! Cerberus Cruiser detected in system! Do Not Trust Cerberus_!" Hackett's voice clear now as the shuttles eased into the sky towards the small speck of a ship in orbit. "_I repeat! Do not trust Cerberus! They are the enemy!_"

Fred's eyes widened and he opened team wide coms. "Blue Team! Cerberus is none friendly!" he looked up, he narrowed his eyes on the shuttle carrying Lucy. Zooming, "Linda! Marking the shuttle that's taking my Spartan! Bring it down gentle!" he barked, he wasn't losing another team member this early into his Alliance Career.

Linda looked up through her scope, tracking it. It wasn't our of her range, not by a long shot. "Tracking… I'm clear." she said, her trance like Zen state coming full force.

"No!" Tom knocked her weapon to the side. "You miss, even an inch and you take out the engine and she crashes and burns!" he turned to Fred. "Tell Hackett to send the fastest ship he has!"

Fred opened his com. He would speak to Tom about his conduct later, "Hackett, Cerberus… is moving into orbit and likely out of the system, we have to give chase. They have Lucy."

There was silence over the com a second. "Nearest ship is five minutes away, son, but we'll do what we can. We'll get her."

Fred, and all of Blue turned to watch the shuttles fade away into the blue sky. He frowned, they could nothing from here but watch as one of their own was dragged off by the enemy! No Spartan in the history of the UNSC had ever been captured! Fred felt a mixture of anger, regret and shame swirl in his gut.

He scanned the rest of Blue Team. Linda was just watching, her rifle lowered. Jorge stood, doing much the same. Tom? Tom was there, helmet held in one hand, dark eyes watching in a swirl of burning hatred he had seen in so many war survivors for the Covenant after a long, bloody tour. Fred wouldn't admit it, but that anger gave him a serious sense of dread.

"Damnit!" Tom snapped, tossing his helmet away. "How could we be so stupid!" he raged.

The others simply watched as the Spartan-III let loose his anger. They had no words. Slowly, Linda walked over to Tom, took his shoulder in her hand and said five words.

"We will get her back."

* * *

Doctor Marcus Evangel, scientist and field medic for Cerberus rode comfortably in the shuttle he had put Lucy on, the young woman was still twitching violently. A nasty effect of the serum he had slipped her while doing a basic check on her shoulder. And she was a wonder! Her body could unlock so many secrets of their other universe. The Illusive Man had been correct to order their "extraction", but they had to settle for her and not the whole team.

No matter, she would do for now. They could one of these series II Spartans later, for now. This one, this Lucy, would do.

"Doctor, we have the Illusive Man on the line, wants an update on the operation," the shuttle pilot called from the front.

Evangel sighed, straightened his clothing and opened his com. "Yes, sir?"

"_Doctor, how goes the operation I sent you? I'm eager for good news_." the Illusive Man's suave tone came over the com easily, clearly. Evangel could tell he was underlining a threat if the news was anything but good.

"Sir, we extracted one of the Series IIIs and are en route back to Genesis Base now, Alliance cut us short," He added a sigh of disappointment. Which was genuine, these Spartans were something else, they had been in orbit the whole time. Watching the combat take place, assessing them. "I am sorry, sir."

There was a pause. The Illusive Man was no doubt thinking it over, "_That's alright, Doctor. I'm disappointed, but the elation that we got one is your saving grace. Now, I want her diagnosed, find out what makes her stronger, faster and sharper._" there was a puff, so, the man was smoking.

"And then, sir?" Evangel probed.

"_Well, after we dissect her gently, I want her to be candidate in the Phantom Initiative, understood, Doctor_?"

And that was what Evangel was hoping not to hear. This specimen would be better served inside the lab! No in combat, she could be the building block to Humanity's ascension! Still, orders were orders and he would be foolish to cross the Illusive Man.

"Sir, understood. Along with her, we've secured numerous tech and specimens, truly remarkable things these Covenant species, I've never seen anything like any of them! I think we have stumbled upon a treasure trove of information!" He was grinning like a child at Christmas.

"_Yes, I'm sure, just be sure you make the most of it, and ensure the specimen is able to still be combat worthy by the end of it. If not, Doctor. I'll find someone better_." The Illusive Man didn't even dismiss him before disconnecting.

Evangel huffed slightly, that was fine. Illusive Man orders or no, he would do what could with this young woman, this beautiful creature of death. He would draw from her a race of new humans, superhumans! And then Humanity would rule the Galaxy as the supreme species! His eyes almost glowed as he thought about it.

He glanced back towards the planet they had left the other Spartans. He waved, grin on his face. "Bye-bye for now, my little test subjects, we'll meet again soon enough." he promised, then blew a kiss.

He was quite insane.

* * *

**End of chapter 13.**

**End of Part One of the story. Part Two coming soon.**

**There it is, questions? Thoughts? Concerns? PM me. But above all else, review! Reviews give me sustenance! And that is good! Now, there will be a timeskip in the next part, how big? You'll see. But, I will say this, expect some Reaping…**


	15. Time passes

**In Infinitum**

**Part II**

**Chapter 14  
Time Passes**

**7 months after Amaterasu, 2100 Hours. Citadel Station, Council Chamber.**  
The four council members were gathered at their respective pedestals for the meeting with one of their most promising Spectres to date, this candidate. As of five months ago, had risen to heights beyond most rank and file soldiers within the Alliance. He had been promoted to Senior Staff Commander, accepted into the Alliance's N7 ranks and then he had chosen resignation from the Alliance. All this accomplishment within the span of two months to suddenly drop off the map of the Alliance was something Councillor Tevos had never heard of.

Not that she was complaining, in the time this individual had become a Spectre. He had proven even more capable than even Commander Shepard, why? This human wasn't bothered by a conscious like Shepard. He didn't find the middle ground, he didn't negotiate, he did what he was ordered to do. He was ingenious and devious while being cold and professional. He scared Tevos and the Asari couldn't hold back the sense of admiration for him.

She blinked to clear her thoughts. Councillor Anderson, Sparatus and Valern were all reviewing the mission report on their personal view screens while they waited for the Spectre in question to arrive. The record was already larger than Shepard's as well, In fact, this Spectre had done more work in the last five months then most new Spectres did in three years. Dedication.

"His reports are always so thorough…" Sparatus muttered from between Anderson and Tevos. "I don't mind the light reading, but today it just seems he put more detail into his report just to buy himself more time to get here."

Tevos could tell her Turian counterpart was just nitpicking at the new Human Spectre, only the second they had allowed into the ranks of the prestigious Special Forces group.

"I'd say its almost Salarian of him," Valern agreed. "This latest mission on Noveria was very delicate, yet I'm reading all his methods as a list of "How not to get caught", he's very thorough, he covered his tracks and got off world before anyone even questioned his presence there. Not a single complaint from Noverian government officials as well," the Salarian Councillor nodded with approval.

"Yes," Anderson agreed, finally speaking since they gathered. "I don't like the bit in there where he had to neutralize two security officials though, they could have been taken down and out, not killed."

Tevos, Sparatus and Valern knew that Anderson didn't like it when the Spectre's admitted to the killing of "innocents" without much of a conscious sides that their lives were another "statistic". But the Human councillor would have to learn to accept that Spectres did what _they_ thought themselves had to do to complete their assignments.

"I read that, yes. Regrettable, but understandable, he explains to maintain anonymity he had to kill them to ensure they never reported his face anywhere near the target's apartment. I approve." Valern added in a counter.

Sparatus nodded and Anderson opened his mouth to start a small discussion with the Salarian councillor. Tevos raised her hand to stop it, "Enough, councillors. We understand your discomfort, Councillor Anderson. But we've discussed this, if Ambrose saw fit to keep his cover by eliminating certain individuals, then that is what he had to do. Now, please, our Spectre has arrived." she nodded towards the approaching figure walking up the stairs towards them.

The councillors all straightened up, closed their report and watched as their bright new star Spectre took the central platform, saluted quickly and spoke. "Noveria Assignment has been completed." The young man before lowered his hand and added. "I would have been here sooner, but the shuttle experienced docking issues."

Tevos nodded. "It is fine, Spectre Ambrose, your report kept out attention while we waited," she dismissed the small excuse. "Now, About this latest operation on Noveria, The target was removed?"

"Effortlessly, if they notice his absence they won't find him until they start searching the mountain ranges, the full coordinates in the statistics of the report, Councillors." Spectre Ambrose replied, the young man's dark hair and eyes were cold as one could be, but they had a fire behind them. One seen in long time veteran soldiers, this young man had seen the ravages of war alright. "Only three other casualties."

_Yes_, Tevos thought. _Two security officials and one unlucky dockworker who was at the wrong place at the wrong time, unfortunate_.

The Asari nodded towards Ambrose, "We know. Now, in the after report notes, you wanted another assignment by the time you returned to the Citadel, why so quickly? Normally you take a few days to rest."

This was odd behaviour for Ambrose, the young man did assignments whenever they came, he would be done them in little time, they had once sent him to Omega to track down a Batarian arms dealer who had been smuggling arms to the Citadel to sell on the streets after he stole them from C-sec supply ships. What should have taken days took Ambrose two days with only one casualty. The Arms dealer.

Ambrose would then return to the Citadel, report in and then rest three or four mores days before asking for another assignment, again, preferably off the citadel on some distant world on the corners of Citadel space or within the Terminus Systems. They tried to keep him out of the latter as much as possible, despite his efficiency. A single mistake out in the Terminus systems could cause a interstellar war.

_So why the change?_ Tevos would probably ask him in private with a call to his personal apartment he used for between mission rests later. "Well, I believe Councillor Valern was looking over a possible subject of interest." she turned to her Salarian counterpart.

"Yes, I have a delicate matter on Sur'kash that needs someone of your expertise," By Expertise, Tevos know Valern was speaking of Ambrose's exceptionally combat record within tropical jungles like those on Sur'Kash, where heat and nature were not so forgiving on those without proper training. And after an operation on Feros' deep jungle where a greedy Citadel based crimelord had taken refuge, Ambrose tracked for days. But found him and made sure the Crimelord was dead, they knew Ambrose was used to harsh environments.

"I'm ready now, Councillors, don't worry about me." Ambrose brushed aside the small concern as easily as any soldier would have. "What was the assignment you needed handled, Councillor?"

Valern continued. "There are reports coming in from the northern jungles of the planet of local wildlife acting different, violent outbursts in normally docile creatures, some just outright dying and disturbances of local flora." he looked down to the Spectre, "Your mission to find the causes of these disturbances, they can't be natural. So someone must be behind them."

"Councillors," Ambrose saluted, turned on his heel and marched towards the elevator. The Councillors nodded, closed their consoles and left to return to their respective embassies to handle the dull paperwork of that their jobs entailed.

Spectre Ambrose had a mission to accomplish.

* * *

A resounding thump echoed inside Jager shuttle as Fred, Linda, Jorge, Ash and Olivia sat within its confines, The Jager Personal Transport Combat Shuttle was the newest Alliance shuttle design to be released, it was co-designed using the mixture of Technology that Dr Halsey provided the schematics for, this shuttle now was using Titanium-A armor plating, an ablative gel layer and it sported energy shielding. Not very strong shielding, but it was still a step up to the Kodiak.

The tiny slit viewing windows on the doors giving a view of the planet below them, a lush green world much like Earth. It was another human colony, Valiant Colony. It had reported Geth activity little more than to two days ago and as of several hours ago it went silent. Alliance Command had sent Blue team into the colony to get a foothold for the primary Alliance forces to get planetside in case of Geth invasion.

Ash, Olivia and Jorge had been outfitted with Halsey's new SPI Mark III armor as well, At least until Jorge's MJOLNIR armor was done being studied by the spooks in the Alliance to garner its secrets for use with everyday Alliance soldiers. The SPI III was very sleek, more like the armor of this universe than that of Fred's, it was black, form tight and was probably the most advanced armor fielded by the Alliance to date. The inside of the armor was much like the MJOLNIR armor's gel layer, it fit snugly onto onto the form of the wearer, matched their temperature and then you felt naked, as if it weren't there.

The second layer was a thin coat of reactive crystals, the same crystals that gave MJOLNIR armor the ability to amplify strength, speed and reaction times by using a thought. Course, these suits had much more advanced computing systems for that, VIs to control the link between their neural implants and their armor, so even the S-IIIs were able to use this armor without difficulty.

The third Layer was comprised entirely of armor plating at the biceps, shoulders, forearms, thighs, calves, groin, chest, stomach and along the back. Where the Mini-Fusion reactors sat, much like the MJOLNIR armor again. The helmets were slightly angular, the visor was a Y shaped blue piece of carbon glass reinforced with Titanium "strings" inside. The internal computer suite allowed a full Heads-Up Display with a targeting reticule, mission timer, Motion sensor and thermal, EMF and Night vision.

"I hope you all paid attention during our briefing on tactics against Geth synthetic forces," Fred said over the com to his teem. Several green lights on his HUD winked. "Good, when we hit the ground we are to establish a foothold for Alliance forces here…" he placed a holodisc on the floor of the shuttle, revealing a map of the area they were going to be landing in. A courtyard of the local school, it was perfectly covered from all sides thanks to the school's circular design and since it offered little tactical value the Geth wouldn't be too interested in it.

"Light resistance is expected at the landing zone, but be double cautious anyways, remember, one spots you and every Geth in the system knows your there," Fred paused only to insert a Thermal Mag into his M9-Banshee, like the Avenger. The Banshee was a fully automatic assault rifle newly designed by an Alliance funded arms manufacturer. But, it packed a lot more punch then the Avenger for two reasons, it used new Mass Accelerator technology gained from Dr. Halsey and some of the greatest Military arms minds in the Alliance using the what captured Covenant technology they got from Amaterasu.

The Covenant's understanding of magnetic forces to shape, contain and launch their plasma was incredible. And now the Alliance had access to it, this birthed whole new weapon capabilities and raised the bar for what limited them before, in this case. The Banshee packed the punch of the Viper sniper rifle with only half the recoil. It allowed the firing of twenty shots before a new thermal clip would have to be inserted, this low ammo capacity per clip led to the creation of the Thermal Magazine.

Thermal Magazines carried three Thermal Clips inside them and were so far only compatible with the Banshee. Meaning they could fire sixty rounds before needing to reload the Magazine, the bull pump design also made it reminiscent of the old MA5 series of rifles they were used to. A good feeling of home.

"Geth, never faced them before," Ash said from his seat, checking over his own Banshee rifle. "So, am I the only one who thinks they're kissing our backsides with these new guns? Not that I'm complaining, these feel right." as he finished his thermal mag slid into place with a click, signalling its ready for use.

The weapon smart linked with Ash's HUD and the ammo counter popped up, sixty rounds numbered on the weapons counter. He was good to go.

"Probably ideas from Halsey," Jorge put in from his own spot. He had been cleared for active duty and given the rank of Serviceman Grade 3 within the Systems Alliance Spartans Operations Task Force. "Make us feel more at home, can't say I disagree, these feel better in my hands, would prefer my machine gun, but that got wrecked by that Elite that Cerberus dragged off."

Fred turned to Jorge. Cerberus, that group had kidnapped Lucy and vanished off the face of the Galaxy, every feeler that the Alliance sent out came up with nothing concerning the shadowy organization that had once been a Black Operations cell within the Alliance itself until they went rogue with pro-human fanaticism. At their head the Illusive Man.

"Agreed," Linda said, she was still using her Sniper Rifle, but ammo was running low for her so she had a Widow AM rifle as backup and a Banshee.

The Jager shuttle stopped with a small jerk, the hatches opened and the Spartans jumped out of the shuttle with their weapons blazing as Geth Troopers fired their Pulse Rifles at the incoming hostiles. One trooper sported a Missile launcher and fired at the departing shuttle, the shuttle itself took the impact, its shields flickered and died. But it clear the battle area to safety.

Fred's shields took a heavier beating against the Pulse rounds fired by the Geth weaponry it seemed since his shields died quickly under their fire, he guessed they used plasma in their weapons. Since it what these shields on MJOLNIR Armor were designed to defend against, but even then, plasma was a shield killer.

Ash leapt to the side to avoid the blast of a missile fired from a rocket trooper. He pressed his back against a metal pillar, one of the dozens that covered the school's courtyard, they made ample cover from the dozen or so Geth shooters. Soon, the humming of a Dropship's engines filled the ears of the Spartans.

Fred snapped into action. "Jorge! Fire the Cain up! Linda, you and Ash head to higher ground and provide overwatch! Olivia! Your down here with me and Jorge! Snap to it Spartans!"

Four green lights winked on his HUD.

Linda aimed through her scope towards a Geth trooper who wasn't paying much attention to her. Her round tore through its shields and shattered its glowing eye, it fell back. She readjusted onto another Geth, this one on the roof of the school, she fired. It fell.

Lowering her weapon she and Ash made their way into the building, finding the stairs they moved upwards. "Watch those corners." Ash whispered with his Banshee at the ready.

Linda replied. "You too." The sound of a rather large explosion outside made them pause, then increase their pace. It was obvious that Jorge shot down the Dropship with the Cain.

Stopping at the top floor the pair stepped up to the doors. "Locked," Ash mumbled, turning to Linda. "Give me a moment," he brought his Omni-tool, a standard edition to their unit now since they handled all hacking and data transfers.

The door's locked beeped once, twice then slid open. Revealing the blue sky of the Colony… and the two Geth snipers currently trying to pick off their squad mates. "Take em!" Ash raised his Banshee and held down the trigger for a five round burst.

The Geth took to the rounds to the back, the first three shattered its shields, the fourth stumbled it over to the edge and the last knocked it over while making its back explode in a mixture of circuits and white coolant. The other sniper turned him, raised its weapon and then flew back when a round from Linda slammed into its chest, it flew over the edge. Hopefully dead.

"Roof is secure, Commander," Ash walked over to the edge of the roof, peering down with his Banshee. "Providing over watch…" he looked to Linda, who took position beside him. "Now."

They opened fire.

The courtyard was secured shortly after.

"Alliance Command, Alpha Team has secured Landing zone, start bringing down troops and we'll advance with them to the target zone." Fred said into the com as he and the rest of his team took up defensive positions until reinforcements arrive.

"Negative, Alpha Team, you're being withdrawn from the Operation by Order of Admiral Hackett, something new has just come up and all special assets are returning to Arcturus Station for immediate reassignment, prep for dust off Spartans." Came Operations Chief Mendez's voice. "And good work."

"Sir," he cut the com to Command and linked his team. "Prep for dust off, we're needed back at Arcturus Spartans!"

More green lights. But something in Fred's gut told him there was something very wrong about to happen in the universe.

* * *

**Arcturus Station, Alliance Central Command Centre. 1200 Hours.**  
"Sir," Thomas Strawl said from his post, looking at his monitoring console. He was in charge of the "listening" probes that were secretly launched into space controlled by the Batarian Hegemony for possible assault on the Alliance or Citadel space, it was a boring job most of the time as there was rarely activity.

His commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander Raymond "Vincent" Valentine, an aging man of great military merit who had retired to a desk job at Communications and long distance recon after taking his seventh purple heart against the Geth. He leaned over to Thomas. "What is it, Lieutenant?"

"I'm getting pings from the Alpha Relay, sir…" Thomas replied, checking the readings again.

"Did you double check the readings?" Raymond asked, frowning as he stared at the screen. The Alpha Relay? That was absurd, the Alpha relay had long since been unused by any species. It lead nowhere but into Dark space, where no stars or other galaxy's existed. That mean the Hegemony was sending a ship out there?

"Triple checked now, sir," Thomas frowned. "Something is coming through the Relay… not going."

"Put it on video," Raymond stood and turned to the main view screen, scratching his greying stubble absently.. The screen flickered and showed a view of the Alpha Relay, he narrowed his eyes. It was powered up to full, so something was…

He stopped when a giant ship pulled out of FTL, then another, followed by two more, then five, seven. "Holy sweet mother of Christ…"

In seconds, at least fifty of those ships all came through the Relay, a fleet unlike any he had ever seen before except in one instance.

They all looked like Sovereign. Hell, some were bigger!

"Sir…" Thomas' tone was just the tiniest bit fear tinted. "What are we seeing?"

"I don't know Lieutenant," Raymond turned to his own console at his command chair. "But get me Admiral Hackett, now."

"Sir!" Thomas quickly got work on setting up a connection… even as he glanced at the vid screen to see more ships pulling out of FTL. It was an armada…

"Shepard was right…" Raymond growled as soon as Hackett was connected. "Admiral, Shepard was right! It's the Reapers! They're pouring through the Alpha Relay! There's hundreds! Maybe thousands!" He quickly forwarded the feed.

Hackett's normally controlled expression flickered to shocked awe upon looking down at his own screen. "God…" he looked to the offscreen. "Call back all special assets! Now! Any ships on patrol and assigned to none essential duties are to return to Arcturus double time!" he turned back to Raymond. "Message the Hegemony, now son!"

"What should I tell them?" Raymond asked.

"The Reapers are here," Hackett's voice was grim. "In full force."

"Sirs! The unknown fleet is moving into defensive formations around the Alpha Relay! It appears them coming through has stalled its power supply!" Sure enough, Thomas was staring at the Relay as its normally blue glow was replaced with a dull blue hue in the center of it, it was recharging.. And since they were moving to defend it.

"There's more to come if we don't destroy that relay…" Hackett muttered, turning to someone offscreen. "I want Alpha Team back here! And Lieutenant Commander," he turned back to Raymond. "Tell the Hegemony of the Reaper Fleet, and that they have to destroy the relay to stop the Reapers from coming through! If they don't we're looking at the most powerful armada pouring across their space and across the Terminus systems in a matter of days!"

"Sir! I'll get it done!" The connection cut and Raymond turned to his console to try and connect to an old Batarian frequency they captured some time ago before the Skyllian blitz.

He only hoped he got through. _Shepard, you were right… goddamnit, you were right… _he glanced at the screen. Somehow, that wasn't comforting in the least.

**End of Chapter 14  
There it is, people. Chapter 14 and the war with the Reapers is about to kick off with explosive results! Now, leave a review please, as reviews make me smile, laugh and cackle with glee!**

**Also, I'm gonna give a "contest" of sorts, so, here it is. I need an OC N7 agent to Leader Alpha Team during their mission to destroy the Alpha Relay, now, normally I would just make an OC Myself, but I wanna see what you, my loyal readers, can offer me! So, just PM me the guy/girl you have in mind and I shall look over them, when I pick one. You will know in the chapter of the operation and credit will go out to the author who won… along with a net cookie.**


	16. Operation CURTAINFALL

**In Infinitum**

**Chapter 15**

**Operation: CURTAINFALL**

**SSV-**_**Upon Reach**_**. Alliance Reconnaissance and Assault Cruiser. 0300 hours.**  
Fred, Ash, Linda and Olivia all stood around a tactical war table, showing holographic images of the Alpha Relay and the fifty-three Reaper ships in a defensive formation around the Relay as it recharged its power source to allow the remainder of the enemy forces through. From what Fred understood, this was only a small fraction of the enemies true numbers, an alarming thought to be sure. But it reminded him of the Covenant and he could beat the Covenant nine times out of ten.

In the FTL flight from their previous assignment location to the Alliance's new stealth cruiser, it had been a bit of a dark ride. They hadn't been briefed on the flight and they were on Arcturus no longer then a half hour before they had been transferred to the Upon Reach and sent out here on the edge of the Bahak system with their stealth systems active, watching the Reaper fleet from a safe distance.

"Alright, so word from Hackett is the Hegemony is gathering its largest fleets to retake the Relay before more enemy reinforcements arrive," Fred began their pre mission briefing with the basics. "However, they don't really know what's coming through the Relay, in fact neither does Command, but they are sure this force that's guarding the relay is only a small fraction of the enemies true numbers, so our mission is to stealth inside their formation while using the attack as a distraction for our entry, once inside we're to go E.V.A out onto the Relay's surface to magnetically attach this…" He tapped another key.

Holographic stats came up for a very familiar explosive device straight from Halsey no doubt. "This is a N.O.V.A bomb, the most powerful explosive you'll likely ever lay eyes on, this piece has been dubbed "Planet-Killer" by Command for the simple fact that it will not only destroy the Alpha Relay, but the surrounding enemy forces," That meant both Reaper and Batarian fleets would be vaporized in an instant.

"Sir, what about the planet nearest to the Relay?" Ash spoke up from his spot.

Fred had anticipated the question, but that didn't make answering it any easier. "Aratoht will be destroyed as well, along with the three-hundred thousand or so inhabitants, a nasty, but necessary, sacrifice to ensure the Reaper fleets don't arrive in force and overtake the entirety of the Bahak system and then the neighbouring systems as well." Fred spoke with a cold finality in his tone. "Now, aside from the usual of Alpha Team, we'll be accompanied by Alliance N7 Operative who is in the Hanger prepping the explosive as we speak, in fact, he's the one who came up with the plan."

"We don't get to know his name?" Olivia piped up from her spot, crossing her arms over chest.

"We will once we go down and get the operation rolling." Fred replied simply. He looked over his team, things had been different since Tom left a few months back and the hole Lucy left when she was kidnapped also weighed on his shoulders. Such was the burden of leadership.

Before Fred could sink into his thoughts, a shipwide announcement came through. "_Alpha Team! Proceed to Hanger bay! The Hegemony is making their push! Double time Spartans_!"

"Move out, Alpha!" Fred grabbed his helmet. The rest followed suit.

They stood, grabbed their gear and moved towards the elevator to get to the Hanger bay.

* * *

**Earth, Alliance Ground Command centre. 0330 hours.**  
Commander Jonathan "John" Shepard sat inside his private quarters on Earth. He had been on "leave" here little over four months now since he had turned the Normandy SR2 over to the Alliance and surrendered himself to their judgement for his actions on behalf of Cerberus. Needless to say, instead of the heroes welcome he knew he deserved, they locked him up forced him onto leave and grounded his ship and made sure he didn't have access to the outside world sides his two bodyguards. Mark and Kelly.

Could he blame them? He was telling them the end of the galaxy was coming through a race of sentient AI machines that not only wiped out the Protheans, but also countless other species before them likely. If Shepard heard it, he'd admit to being a little or more frightened by it all. But no, he was the one who knew it. He couldn't be frightened, not now when so many counted on him being strong.

He sighed, rolling onto his back and staring at the sterile white ceiling with a mixture of contempt and boredom, he should have been out there, providing support for the Alliance defenses to help them be ready for the Reapers. But instead he was in this same damned room again! It was maddening, infuriating and just outright foolish of Alliance Leadership to lock him away like this until they reached their damned decision.

Whether they believed him or not, it didn't matter. The Reapers would come and they'd be forced into action, he just prayed it wasn't too late for the galaxy to come together and fend off total extinction.

_No it won't, _he thought with strong conviction as he clenched his fists into a white knuckled grip. _It won't be too late, we've stopped the Reapers plans twice already, we can do it a third time for the last time. _He closed his eyes, Kaiden was no longer with them because of this war. No, that wasn't right.

It was because Shepard lacked the skills to save both he and Ashley back on Virmire, He couldn't convince Saren that the Reapers were just using him until he was too far gone. He couldn't save the colonists of Horizon and he lost his entire crew sides Joker when the Collectors came for the Normandy and if he hadn't been so readily prepared to follow them. He would have lost them permanently.

What about now though? The Alliance was making whole new breakthroughs with the help of Dr. Halsey, she had given them so much data and schematics, even now the Alliance was working on its newest "dreadnought" the _SSV-Far Beyond the Stars_, from what Kelly told him. Instead of being based off an Eazo core it would be using two fusion reactors, fusion reactors! And to make it even more terrifying, it would rival the Destiny Ascension in size she had said.

This was being all being developed in secret of course, not even Anderson was being informed of this. Only reason Kelly had told Shepard was because Command didn't specifically forbid her from telling him, a loophole, but one he appreciated. He knew she respected him thanks to their four months of flying around saving colony, scouting Geth outposts and otherwise just helping people as they came along while on the Normandy.

He respecter her too, well, her and Mark. They were both fine soldiers, each was easily N7 and then some in terms of skills and experience, Mark's talents with a rifle had become infamous aboard the Normandy. He had beaten both Shepard and Garrus, the top marksmen. Kelly could move fast, in hand to hand she was a blur of movements, Garrus stood no chance. Shepard? Well, adrenaline burst for three point five second period was enough for him to match her speed, briefly. But he surprised her enough to land three good punches and a knee.

She had still won though, apparently, she could go faster if she wanted. Adrenaline or not, Shepard wasn't able to keep up with her after that. He was almost frightened by the idea that all series II SPARTANs like her were that fast, but she explained that she was only that fast because she was the fastest Spartan of their "grade". Shepard understood.

But what threw him off that Kelly had told him about one of Halsey's more personal projects as the Alliance's head research scientist. She was working on a series IV SPARTAN program. Using the data she had gathered from her series II and a man named Ackerson's series III, she was granted this by Admiral Hackett apparently and its been on standby while all the preparations were made on a planet of her choosing, apparently Kelly hadn't been informed of which planet she had chosen for their Series IV.

That was something of an interesting thought. Shepard admitted to himself, more Spartans trained from the ranks all N7 members, turning their already combat hardened bodies into something more. Shepard briefly wondered if he was on that list to receive the Augmentations… would be something.

Shepard glanced outside his window, frowned towards the sky and muttered. "I know you're out there, Harbinger. And I hope you understand that when all this is over, you'll be dead and i'll be the victor."

* * *

**Sur'Kash, Deep within northern jungle. 0350 hours.**  
Spectre Ambrose lazily crawled through the shallow mud of the heated forest of Sur'Kash, it had been a hell of a crawl to ensure he wouldn't leave any evidence of his being here sides a few footprints and crushed leaves and grass. The inner layer of gel inside his SPI Mark III armor kept his body temperature nice and cool even in the burning hot sun of the tropical planet. But even when his body wasn't sweating, his body could feel there was something important here.

He crawled further in the muddy edge of the lake, his armor was airtight. So no need to worry about water getting inside his armor, which was clear and if Ambrose stopped to observe the scene for a moment he would realise he was surrounded by beauty that only nature could create. But he had a mission to do, find out whatever had caused the disturbances in the area. He did some digging with the locals a day before and found out there had been a few disappearances of Salarian patrols

None had reported in, they sent in scouting parties to try and find the teams, nothing turned up. Each search was deemed a failure and no further attempts were made and the teams were listed MIA for a week before going down as KIA. So, not only was there disturbances in animal behaviour and health, but also this. Interesting, he could see why Councillor Valern had wanted him on this.

A twig snapped somewhere to Ambrose's left.

The man froze and with a soft whisper he said, "Active Camouflage." His armor's kinetic barriers went down and were replaced by the stealth technology used by stealth Elites in the field of Human/Covenant war, no, that wasn't right. This was improved with the technology of this universe, now, he was essentially invisible unless someone was using thermal styled optics… or they kicked and stepped on him.

There was the subtle rustling of leaves, the crunching of grass beneath boots. All signs of someone trying not to be heard or seen while they moved across the jungle terrain. Ambrose turned his head slightly to the left and tried to spot the ones causing the sounds, he watched the greenery closely, looking for anything that didn't belong.

He waited some more. Then caught it, briefly between the leaf of a low tree and the fallen trunk of a long dead tree. A flash of white and black, colors that didn't belong in the canvas of green, brown and gray of the jungle. He watched for it again, there was three of them by the looks of it, moving in a loose V formation, using hand signals or shortwave radio transmissions. Ambrose couldn't hear them.

He stood from the mud, his invisible hand drifted to his hip where his M3-Predator hung, it was currently enveloped in his stealth field, but the moment he disconnected it from the magnetic strip it would become visible, a floating gun essentially. He had a silencer attached to it, so it wouldn't make to big a bang when he had to fire it. But aside from the pistol, that was all he had on him.

He slowly skulked forward after the three mystery men, he was going to get some answers from them. Who they were, why they were on Sur'Kash and where their base was.

It felt like hours until he caught up to the team in question, his mission timer actually dealt it to twenty-seven minutes, but at the snail's pace he used to catch up to them it had felt much longer. He watched them, seeing them much better since he was roughly only ten feet away from them now.

Their armor was white, black and yellow. The slit of their eye visors was red, which gave them an intimidating appearance to any normal person, however. Ambrose wasn't your normal soldier. Not by far. He narrowed his eyes and watched as they withdrew some sort of tranquilizer gun, armed it and aimed at a local beast known as a Caloo, a herbivore with dull gray skin and a mane of fur along its back along its tail with two horns atop its head. It had a pair of large, golden eyes and was as big as Earth's own Lions.

The leader of the team raised the gun. Took a moment to aim and then fired.

The Caloo went down a moment after the dart pierced it.

The armored team forward towards it, losing most of their caution since they had caught their prey. But they were still careful of tracks and any noticeable signs of their presence, one was on lookout while the other two collected the Caloo and began to carry it off back the way they came.

Right towards Ambrose.

The Spartan narrowed his dark eyes behind his visor and reached for his Predator. If they discovered him, he would need to eliminate them and scrap his original plan of following them back to wherever they came from. A last resort, he needed them to make his hunt easier.

They approached ever closer and Ambrose grew more tense.

His eyes scanned their armor. He froze when they caught a specific logo on their upper right chest plate.

They were Cerberus.

White hot rage seared inside Ambrose so fast he almost felt his hand snap to his Predator for the slaughter, they didn't know he was there yet. He would have scrapped his own plan because he couldn't keep his anger in check, with a narrow of his eyes he softly released his breath inside his helm and waited, his arm shifted.

A leaf rustled when his elbow skimmed it.

The Cerberus team stopped and the lookout stared in his direction, the weapon he was holding. A M69-Mattock would shear through Ambrose's unshielded armor with ease if he opened fire on the Spectre's position. The Cerberus trooper stared for a long minute, his Mattock slowly sweeping the area before he gave the all clear and they continued on.

Ambrose smirked behind his visor and moved after them at a safe twenty feet distance, well within his sight and away from their ears. He felt a strange sense of anger and excitement swelling within his gut. This was the chance he had been waiting for since he left the Alliance and joined the Citadel Council as a Spectre, this is what he gave up rank and regulations for. A single chance to strike at Cerberus without Fred to order him to stand down, without Hackett telling him how to handle the situation.

Without the haunting image of Lucy's shuttle flying out of his reach.

Spectre Tom Ambrose wasn't going to allow Cerberus any reprieve, if they were here. They were going to tell him exactly where they took his friend and comrade. Even if he had to beat them within an inch of their lives.

**End of chapter 15**

_**Alright, to answer a few questions from the reviews that stuck out. Why didn't Halsey make MJOLNIR armor? Because while they are in a different universe. MJOLNIR armor is still extremely expensive to produce, so making whole new sets of it while still granting funding for the SPI Mark III, the Banshee and the new stealth Cruiser and even the newest Dreadnought would just be pushing it. I like to think I've been reasonable with the gains the Alliance has gotten with Halsey's considerable knowledge.**_

_**As for why they don't seem to be going after Lucy? Well, I think I answered that one is. The others are still military and cannot confront the matter until they get a lead on Cerberus, with Shepard in "lockdown" they lost their sole connection to the black-ops group.**_

_**The N7 contest is still open, now. For those entered alien N7s. I'll be more clear, the operative must be human, as N7 is Alliance special operations. **_

_**Here's a basic sheet of what I want.**_

_**Name:  
Rank:  
History:  
General appearance:**_

_**Anything else I can make up as I go. Thanks.**_

_**Now, please leave a review. Would be nice. Good night, you all!**_


	17. Spartans

**In Infinitum**

**Chapter 16  
Spartans**

**Sur'Kash, Deep within Northern Jungle. 0800 Hours.**  
Ambrose had followed the Cerberus team over roughly seven miles in a semi straight line for roughly four hours now, it had been slow going since the lookout wasn't exactly sloppy. He just wasn't Spartan attentive, if he had been Ambrose wouldn't have gotten this far without detection. But he had and now he saw their destination. The entrance of a cave.

As they got within fifteen feet of the cave mouth Ambrose decided it was time to get closer, much closer. He increased his speed, going into a crouch and moving forward, abandoning some of his stealth in favor of closing the distance.

They didn't notice. The three Cerberus troopers, along with their captured Caloo, entered the cave with most of their caution gone. Ambrose guessed it was because they thought they were in the clear once they were inside the cave.

How wrong they were.

Ambrose was in his crouch, moving along their path while carefully avoiding any rocks he could kick and break his cover while simultaneously trying to keep track of the Cerberus Team ahead of him. They stopped shortly after entering the cave, the lead put the Mattock onto his back and keyed his com.

"Command, this is Capture Team, we've returned to the entrance and awaiting clearance, send the lift. Over." There was silence after the trooper finished speaking.

Ambrose raised a brow behind his visor when the floor of the cave split open and lifted up into a hatch to reveal a lift capable of holding four people, maybe six if they didn't mind invading their personal space bubbles.

The Cerberus team stepped onto the lift. Ambrose decided it was worth a risk, he moved forward, joining them on the platform, right behind one of the carriers. Slowly, the lift started to descend into the depths of wherever it came from. A Cerberus base was likely hidden beneath the ground, least that's why they found no trace of whatever had caused the disturbances here.

In moments the lift stopped and a pair of doubled doors slid open, revealing the sterile white walls of a long hallway, the other end were doors with a sign saying "Decontamination" on it. This was as far as Ambrose went with his escorts, the moment they reached decontamination he would be detected by the scanner and his cover would be blown.

One hand moved to the hilt of his Alliance combat knife, the other to his Predator. He moved forward with the team until they reached the double doors. They waited.

The doors slid open. Tom struck forward.

His knife buried itself in the back of the neck of one of the troopers carrying the Caloo, his Predator was pressed to the head of the leader. When he jerked out his knife he pulled the trigger, both troopers fell to the floor in heaps, the Caloo with them as the last reached for his Hornet.

He stopped as Ambrose's active Camouflage deactivated, revealing the Spartan to the surprised trooper in time for a knife to be plunged into the side of his neck, Tom moved around him with the knife still in his enemies neck. "How many guards behind those doors?" The Spartan hissed.

A gurgled groan was the reply.

Tom ripped the knife out and tossed the body towards the doors, causing them open. Inside the other room were five security personal, four troopers and one scientist by the looks of the coat and datapad.

Ambrose decided that only the Scientist needed to live.

He stepped forward in an almost lazy fashion, the two guards beside the door turned around and were greeted by two lightning quick hisses from Tom's Predator pistol. They fell back when two more entered their skulls, the other two were raising there Mattocks when Tom raised his Omni-Tool, it beeped. Their weapons vented heat and didn't fire.

Tom put them down with a single round to their heads.

The Scientist turned to run, but when Tom threw his knife into the back of his right knee he screamed and fell to the floor clutching at the blade. With four more shots to each trooper's head Ambrose made sure they were dead before moving over to the groaning scientist.

"You look more important than these grunts," Tom said, reaching down and pulling the man onto and off his feet with one arm by his collar. "What is Cerberus doing here?" he asked.

The scientist, despite the wild fear in his eyes, didn't speak.

"Alright," Tom put a round in his other knee . Another scream was his reward. "Wanna talk now?"

The scientist bit his lip.

Two more rounds entered his left shoulder, blood splattered the wall behind him. "Ahh! Shit!" the man wailed, raising an arm and holding his bleeding shoulder as if it would stop the pain.

"Tell me. What is Cerberus doing on Sur'Kash?" Tom asked again, voice cold.

"I won't tell you shit!"

The man had balls, Tom had to admit to himself as he gripped the man's wrist, then squeezed tightly. Bones snapped a moment later and the man screamed again, his other hand moved to try and nurse his wrist when his hand was intercepted, his other wrist suffered the same fate soon after.

"Still feeling tight lipped?" Ambrose raised a brow.

"I don't…" the man stopped when a sob racked his body. "I just… study the animal species they bring in! You want to talk to Doctor Janus three levels down! She's the head researcher here!" he explained.

Ambrose studied the man. Decided he wasn't lying, "I need a way past the security doors, you have access?"

The man nodded, gesturing to his ID card on his coat. Tom took it, put two in his heart and tossed the body aside before turning to the nearest security terminal. Accessing it he checked the base security status, he wasn't detected. Still, it showed a security force of fifty-two other personal on the three levels of the facility and roughly nineteen staff. Tom glanced at the dead scientist. _Eighteen now_.

After logging out, Ambrose moved out of the room into the first level. The lift that had taken him here was only capable of going to the ground and the first level. The real elevators were in the center of the facility and the back, why? Tom had no idea. He lowered his shields, activated his camouflage again and moved across the white halls.

He stopped at some observation windows. Peering inside he saw caged animals of all kinds native to Sur'Kash, herbivores, carnivores and omnivores alike were all being experimented on here, Ambrose didn't understand, why would Cerberus study animals of an alien planet? Didn't seem like their style. Some of the animals, another Caloo, looked utterly sick, blood dripped from its nostrils, its golden eyes were faded as if blind and a patch on the side of its leg was shaved with tracks from repeated needle injections.

Tom felt revulsion swell inside his gut along with the embers of his anger for the organization that was responsible for all this. Tearing his eyes away he continued on towards his destination, the elevator in rear end at the right of the base. He stopped when the sounds of footsteps echoed in the hall, he pressed himself against the wall and waited silently.

Another team of Cerberus troopers, each held a Mattock and a Hornet Sub-Machine Gun at their hips, the Mattock was held in a "standby" position. These troopers really believed they were safe inside their base of operations unless the alarms were sounded. Ambrose guessed it was his lucky day then.

Until he realised this group was going towards the security checkpoint where five bodies were just collecting dust and just waiting to be discovered by the security detail currently moving towards it. Tom had to make a decision, stop the security detail or continue towards the elevator and hope to get to the head researcher before every trooper inside the base is issued a kill order for anyone who isn't on the roster.

With a resigned grit of his teeth Tom continued onwards, someone would find the bodies eventually and he couldn't keep going back to stop them until someone realised their security teams stopped reporting in. Turning the next corner he came to the elevator doors closing with two other scientist inside, he sprinted forward and dove into the elevator as the doors closed.

The two scientists jumped when the Ambrose his the floor between them. One turned for the elevator control pad, Ambrose drew his Predator and with three quick rounds to his upper body the man crumpled to the floor, the other reached for his own Predator beneath his coat. Tom didn't even turn to him to put three in his chest as he stood.

_Least there isn't any annoying elevator music playing, _Tom thought with a sigh, ejecting the Thermal Clip and reattaching his pistol to his waist, he disengaged his Av-Cam for now until the elevator reached the floor he was going to.

* * *

**Cronos Station, Cerberus Central Command. 0800 Hours.**  
The Illusive Man sat within his private office. Prosthetic blue eyes scanning the holographic screens diligently as his various agents reports moving over them the screens. Progress was being made on every front it seemed, well, almost every front. There was still that little matter with the Alliance and their special Operations group of Spartans.

Ever since his 'procurement' of the Spartan-III Lucy, Cerberus had not been able to capture any of the series II models of Spartans and while Lucy was an excellent speciman for study and learning much about the Spartans. The Illusive Man liked having all the cards, or in this case, both series of Spartans. Speaking of Lucy…

With a soft inhale of his cigar the Illusive Man spun around on his chair towards the communicator. "Genesis Main laboratory," he spoke clearly.

There was a moment before a familiar scientist appeared on the holographic communicator. "Evangel here, what is it, Illusive Man?" Evangel looked like he was lacking sleep, pits under his eyes and his coat was covered in a substance that the Illusive Man knew was blood.

"I'll ignore you blatant disrespect in favor of asking how our special subject is doing," The Illusive Man wasn't really angry with Evangel. The man was a brilliant scientist for all his insanity and someone he knew was dedicated to humanity. "So, how is Lucy?"

"Oh, she's wonderful!" Evangel suddenly perked up and his eyes glowed with exuberance. "We're keeping her nice and comfortable while he extract the secrets of her body, she's been a real help during our augmentation processes for the Phantom Initiative project, honestly, we're seeing results daily with this little gem."

"I hope you're sticking to blood tests and basic tissue samples, doctor," warned the Illusive Man with a narrow of his eyes.

"Oh, I am, don't worry about me, bossman. I'm keeping my hands clean, oh, she's awake, if you want to see her? I assure she is combat ready. But I think you will want to judge that for yourself," Evangel grinned widely.

The Illusive Man nodded. "Send for her."

Evangel quickly disappeared off the screen and for roughly eleven seconds no one appeared until a familiar dark haired woman stepped onto the holographic communicator. Lucy's hair had long since grown a little past four inches in length, her normally dark, gray eyes were now a shining purple. Her body was hugged nicely by a form fitting black suit with armor plating at her shoulder, chest, forearms and shins.

A Cerberus Assassin sword hung at her right hip and a combat knife was neatly strapped to her left hip, she was a fully grown woman and the Illusive Man couldn't deny her beauty now when the suit she wore left little to the imagination of what may lay beneath.

With a nod he said, "Hello, Lucy. Doing well?"

The Spartan-Assassin nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm combat ready, sir, I don't like being subject to these tests day in and out," she pointed her thumb over her shoulder. "Dr. Evangel draws my blood, takes a sample of my muscle tissue every week or so, I'm feeling cramped." she admitted, running a hand through her hair.

The Illusive Man was a little surprised by the sound of her voice, it was calm, yet held an edge to it. An edge of the trained killer with a purpose, a few weeks ago she couldn't speak and now she was talking to him. Very nice.

With a small smile the Illusive Man replied. "Funny you should say so, Evangel assures me your ready to be put into the field as well, I have a task that needs taking care of, there's been a silent alarm at one of research facilities on Sur'Kash," he tapped a key on his chair's command pad. A hologram of the Salarian homeworld appeared, "I considered warning the personal, but they're expendable, mostly. I want you to extract Doctor Janus Everest from the facility, then activate the facility's self destruct, no need to leave evidence of what we were doing there, after all."

Lucy nodded. "I'll have it done." she turned and left the screen. The Illusive Man took another drag of his cigar.

Evangel reappeared on the screen. "Impressive, no?" he chuckled.

"Most impressive, what have you done to her? I don't believe you've sent a single report in a month."

Evangel grinned. "Sorry, I just love explaining what I do, feels much more accomplishing! Anyways, her eye color is a result of the eye enhancements I've done to increase her vision clarity, her vision was exceptional before so there was room for little improvement, the most I did was give her Ultra High Definition vision." he said, then withdrew a datapad.

The Illusive Man listened, nodding at point as he soaked in the information. "What about combat wise?"

"Combat wise? Sir, she's an Angel of Death, her firearm proficiency was above and beyond any of our soldiers could hope to match and with Kai Leng's lessons, her sword skills are on par with the man himself, it's extraordinary! Like she was bred for combat!" Evangel's eyes sparkled with glee. "her augmentations are far beyond ours, her bones are extremely dense, almost unbreakable due to a compound we're still trying to synthesize for use with our soldiers, however, her muscle density and reaction times are easy replicable and are being spread widely to our soldiers with every ship checking in."

It was all impressive to be sure, Evangel was making leaps thanks to Lucy and in doing so, helping Humanity secure its place as the strongest species in the galaxy. "Anything else I should know?"

"Well, as you've heard, we've gotten her to speak again, it took time and some… rather imaginative use of drugs and physical stimulation, and she has been rewritten nicely, she should little to no recognition of her old events, including her Spartan colleagues. She believes, and is, a loyal Cerberus Assassin dedicated to seeing your ambitions through," Evangel laughed. "She will be a very obedient assassin."

"That's good to hear, ever Shepard was put in lockdown we've been short on super soldiers, sides Kai Leng, of course," The Man replied while he snuffed out his cigar. "Keep me posted on your doings from here on out, things in the galaxy are going to get very interesting." with those parting words the Illusive Man closed the connection and turned to face his screens again.

_Reapers at the Alpha Relay, Alpha team sent to destroy the relay, interesting… _He thought, raising a glass of wine to his lips and sipping.

* * *

**SSV-**_**Upon Reach**_**, Alliance Reconnaissance and Assault Cruiser. 0800 Hours.**  
Alpha Team had assembled their gear and taken the elevator down into the Hanger Bay of the stealth cruiser to meet their N7 pilot who would be flying them on this operation. Fred already didn't like it, space wasn't a place any Spartan liked to be. They preferred solid ground with dirt, where there wasn't a chance of being tossed into darkness until death by so much as a blown thruster pack. Much like Kurt-051 so long ago.

Fred loaded the shuttle up, he could see the N.O.V.A bomb magnetically clamped to the rear of the Jager transport shuttle. The usual High powered machine guns were replaced by Falcon styled grenade cannons, since there was little chance for ground combat it would be more fighter styled.

The shuttle doors slid to the side and out marched their N7 pilot, his face was obscured by the standard N7 "Death Mask", the eye visor glowed yellow and the rest of the armor was pitch black sides the red stripe down the right arm. The N7 emblem was painted onto upper right of the chest. What stuck out to Fred was the standard five car hand of seven, seven, Ace, seven and seven emblem of the 77th fighter squadron, if Fred remembered correctly the unit was at the battle of the Citadel where its assigned ship, the SSV-_Bonaparte_, was destroyed by Sovereign with minimal survivors while most of the squadron was wiped out covering the Destiny Ascension's escape.

"Second Lieutenant Zeke Jensen, reporting sir." The N7 soldier saluted briskly before hopping onto the deck of the hanger bay. "You guy Alpha Team? Heard legends about you lot," he scanned the team of Spartans. Holding his hand out for Fred.

Fred shook it lightly and replied. "Pleasure to be working with you, Lieutenant," he said with a nod while withdrawing his hand. "And I've heard my share about you, Ace." he replied to the legend comment.

The Spartan leader didn't have to see through the helmet to know that Jensen was smirking behind his helmet. "We can exchange war stories later, Alpha, first things first we gotta bring the pain…" he turned back to the shuttle and hopped inside before moving to the cockpit. He strapped in and took a breath. "Pile on in, Alpha, we've got a fleet of giant cockroaches between us and our objective! Not to mention three very angry Batarian fleets!"

Fred turned to Alpha. "You heard the Lieutenant! Move! Move!" he gestured them.

Alpha soon got into the shuttle and the hanger bay doors opened to reveal the chaotic space battle they were about to fly into. Batarian fighters and Reaper Oculus dogfights were everywhere, Reapers carved ships in half with their main guns while A few Reapers limped away from the battle, their body damaged and several legs gone. One Reaper was "Dead" in space, just floating lifelessly in the eternal darkness of space.

Wreckages moved about the battle zone as well, large chunks of hull or just remnants of fighters or Oculus. With a small sigh Ace muttered, "Well, that's going to be a tough one…" he hit the acceleration and the shuttle jerked out of the hanger bay towards the battle while the _Upon Reach _stealthed nearby, waiting for the FTL jump out system once they planted the NOVA.

Fred gripped tightly onto the railing over his head, so much so it gave a soft groan as it bent to the shape of his palm. This wasn't the safest plan they ever had, but it was all they got instead of going in with a fleet of Alliance ships and possible making the Batarian Hegemony believe the Alliance and Reapers were working together. But Fred still didn't like it.

"I hate flying!" Ash called from his spot, one hand was white knuckled on the railing while the other was holding onto his Banshee. The shuttle was rocked by a nearby explosion as a Batarian Frigate they were flying past was bisected by the main gun of not one, but two Reapers. The explosion sent a wave of heat across the shuttle, so much so Ace felt a brief spike.

"Felt that one," The N7 grumbled, then looked down at his console when it gave a warning. "Ah shit," He growled. "A squadron of Oculus is coming to play intercept!" he maxed the acceleration and the shuttle picked up even more speed to dodge the crisscrossing lasers of the chasing Oculus.

He looked at his radar, "Seven to one, not bad, not bad…" he muttered, concentrating.

He jerked the shuttle to the right to avoid a burst from the chasing craft before he tilted it to avoid the debris of what was once a Reaper leg, the Relay was in sight but there was no way they could plant it with the seven Oculus following them. The shuttle gave a screech as one of the lasers sheered through the shielding and left a neat gash in the armor. "Damnit!" he moved it to the right behind the damaged hull of a Cruiser that was dead in space.

The Oculus followed after Jager closely.

"We can't plant the bomb with those damn eyes watching us!" Ace growled, then glanced to the side of his viewing window to see two more on a intercept course from the right. "Great!" he paused, then asked. "Your suits airtight?"

"Yeah, they are, we got guns on this thing? I don't think our Banshees will be enough to pierce its shields and armor." Fred replied in step.

"Oh yeah, we have guns," Ace flipped a switch, sat back and listened to the atmosphere vent. In moments the only thing holding him to his seat was the straps he wore. "Opening doors, get ready Alpha."

Fred watched as the door hissed open, revealing the chaos around them. From the floor at each door rose a single, heavy double barrelled machine cannon. "Linda! Mount the gun! Ash, Olivia! Prep the Nova for timed detonation! We are not landing on the relay while under fire so we'll improvise!"

Linda moved over to the left turret, gripped the firing grips and let her visor link up with the smart link targeting systems and then four little lines appeared on her heads up display. She watched her side diligently, scanning the space as wreckages flew on by. Fred took the right, let his helmet synch up and he let loose towards the two Oculus moving on intercept through the debris field.

The swerved to avoid his large rounds as large _Th-Thump!_ echod with each burst from his weapons. The Oculus broke off pursuit and rejoined another squadron, the seven chasing them however double their efforts to destroy their prey.

"What you have planned, Commander?" Ace called through the com as he moved along the hullside of a Reaper's back, the Oculus didn't dare open fire on them as they did. "I'm reading the Nova being set on a timer."

"We're going to deliver this payload as we pass the Relay, it will be set to detonate in thirty seconds, we have to be out system before it goes or we go with it!" Fred replied, "Three more on the right!" he opened fire.

Ash and Olivia worked on the NOVA with their Omni-tools. "Timer set to… thirty-five seconds, Commander!" Ash reported while Olivia locked down the commands, if the Reapers tried hack it the NOVA would explode on the spot. No way they'd let the Reapers get their hands on a NOVA.

"The extra five for good luck!" Olivia piped up from her spot, both hands gripping the rail now like Ash.

Ace was about to open his mouth to give his two cents on the plan before his screen beeped and he yelled "Reaper closing!" he looked out to the left, sure enough a Reaper was flying towards them. It's main gun glowing red hot to fire.

"Oh shit…" Ace muttered as he lifted the ship upwards in time for the giant red beam to pass by them, had they kept going on their path they'd be toast. "Too close, too close," he whispered.

He gasped when a Reaper pulled out of FTL right in their path. "Relay's working! And hold on tight!" He did a barrel roll, going between the Reaper's legs and out the other side between two more. "This is it! Deliver it!" he shouted, knuckles beneath his armor.

Fred pressed a key on his Omni-tool, the Nova released from the magnetic locks and with the force of the shuttle moving launched towards the Relay. "Timer is running! Alright, Ace, get us out of here!" Fred ordered, returning fire on a few Oculus who were getting too close for combat.

"On it, Commander!" Ace growled, spinning the ship with a 180 "spin" by using the jump thrusters normally reserved for breaking atmosphere of a heavy gravity planet. He blazed it back they way they came, past the seven Oculus who broke apart when it seemed he was going to ram them. "Out of the way!" he cheered, grinning as he jerked left past another Reaper who came through the Relay.

"Twenty- four seconds!" Ash reported. The doors to the shuttle closed and the turrets sank back into the floor.

Ace felt sweat building inside his helmet and running down his face. Eyes narrowing he muttered, "Come on." he tilted the shuttle and took it hard right to use the damaged hull of a reaper leg as a shield from the burst from Oculus lasers. "Upon Reach! Open hanger doors! We're coming in hot!"

"Fifteen seconds!"

"I know!" Ace said over the com, getting a little flustered by Ash's countdown.

They cleared the battle zone with fifteen Oculus giving chase to them, even a Reaper was breaking off the fleet to give chase after the shuttle. "Five to landing! We've got this!" Ace grinned nervously as the shuttle picked up ever more speed, jerking forward when he used the jump boosters.

"Nine!"

The shuttle shot into the hanger bay, its breaking thrusters slowing it down just enough for it to not explode on impact with the floor, it skid across the large bay until it hit the back. The hangers doors closed and the Cruiser began to move towards the relay.

"Five!"

"Shut. Up!" Ace yelled over the com. "I'm nervous enough without you counting down like it's the end of days!"

"Sir, sorry sir!" Ash sputtered, afterall, Ace was still higher ranked.

The Upon Reach moved in range of the Relay. It charged and then the cruiser shot into FTL. Meanwhile, magnetically attached to the Relay, the NOVA Sparked once, twice then a bright white light erupted from it, the Relay disintegrated, no wreckage left of the great device. The nearby Reaper and Batarian fleet were all still, their shields sputtered, died. Their hulls heated to red, then white and melted away before they exploded. Oculus and fighters just disintegrated.

The nearby planet, Aratoht, glowed with radiation, the clouds vaporized and the atmosphere was stripped away and a line of massive fires broke out on the surface, the planet became Hell itself as the force of the explosion "shattered" the planet, breaking it into three large chunks, which in turn broke up into more pieces. So many lives were snuffed out.

Fred leaned against the shuttle hull. "Alpha! Sound off!" he called, coughing. He tasted blood.

"Ash here, sir…" Ash was sitting down, rubbing his helmeted head.

"I'm good," Olivia muttered from her spot next to Ash, sprawled across his lap.

"Green," Linda stood from the floor, glancing around. "Guess we made it," she added flatly.

"Yeah." Fred agreed as he stood, turning to the cockpit he looked over to Ace. "Lieutenant, you alright?" he asked, placing a hand on the pilot's shoulder.

"Yeah, an arm is dislocated and I'm sweating bullets, but yeah…" the man was grinning behind his helmet. "I'm good." he turned to Fred, "Mission complete?"

"Mission complete," Fred nodded, leaning against the wall and for the first time in his career he could say it was a well done mission. They were out of their element and outnumbered in a shuttle, but they had done the impossible again, they stopped the Reapers advance for now.

"Alpha Team," came the Captain of the Reach. "Admiral Hackett is on the line, he has a new mission for you."

Fred had the decency not to groan. "Understood, we'll be in the communications room in two."

**End of chapter 16**

_**There it is! Chapter 16! Now you all know what happened to Lucy, and Tom is in trouble! Anyways, I'm feeling very sick right now, so I'm going to lay down and sleep now before this headache slams me into the desk. G'day people!**_

_**Also, I'd like to announce that the OC who won was Second Lieutenant Zeke "Ace" Jensen, the N7 pilot was submitted by Dutch1996, congratulations to him! A lot of people came close to first, but Zeke stood out to me, don't worry. Your OCs may yet show up later on in the story as the war with the Reapers begins!**_

_**PS. Review! Now to go hack up a lung! XD  
**_


	18. Reunion

**In Infinitum**

**Chapter 17  
Reunion**

**Citadel, Council Chamber. 0820 Hours.**  
Anderson, Sparatus, Tevos and Valern all looked on mixed expression of awe, surprise and genuine fear as the video feed from the Alpha Relay as the Reaper's engaged, more like diced, the Batarian fleets, three hundred to fifty, and the Reapers only lost two of their own with a few wounded. But, it also made Anderson realise something in his gut.

He was feeling very smug. After ignoring the Reapers for so long, ignoring Shepard's warnings and just dismissing them for the last three years. They had their proof and Anderson was sorely tempted to wipe it in their faces just a huge "F-U" to them for all that Shepard had gone through without reward.

Instead, he settled for turning to them and gesturing to feed. "Dismiss those, councillors." he didn't smirk, frown or glare. He just stared at them, letting his words and the evidence speak for themselves.

"This is… alarming…" Tevos was the first to break from her stupor, turning to Anderson. "And why is you are so calm about this?" she asked, confused.

"Because, unlike all of you. I listened to the man who told us those were out there, coming for us," Anderson replied with a little heat before he added. "But that's enough for now, we have to figure out what we're going to do about them, we need to prepare to defenses, mass our fleets and set up strategic locations, inform the population before they find another relay to come through an-"

"This will take time," Sparatus interrupted him. "We need to debate what to do before we jump right to war planning phase."

"Are you kidding me? You just saw them!" Anderson felt anger boil in his blood. "Those were Reapers, some were bigger then Sovereign for God's sake! You want to debate what to do? Councillors, war is the only option, there is no negotiating, there is no surrender. We have to start moving our fleets to keep an eye on any possible relays that lead out into Dark Space where they may try to enter from, Sparatus, this isn't time for politics slow advance, its time for the calculated march of war."

The other councillors stared at Anderson, each surveying him and deep in thought. Finally, Valern spoke. "I will inform the Delatrass of this, I will see about sending stealth ships to suspect Relays to watch and wait for any sign of Reaper activity."

Surprised, the Turian councillor rounded on Valern. "Valern! You can't be serious, for all we know that was the entire Reaper fleet, there are too many unknowns here to make the first move in a war that could ignite a massive conflict! In fact, that could have been half the Reaper fleet, we can't just jump onto this because Anderson says we should." the Turian ranted.

"Sparatus, you saw the feed. The Reaper fleets were in defensive formation around the relay, they were guarding it so their entire force could come through, they were the advance team, a fraction of the force send to hold a single relay," Valern explained. "Their real force must be massive, considering the size of their advance force in step with the Reaper's sizes themselves." the Salarian shook his head, "I'm sorry, but I have to agree with Anderson, Shepard told us how they wiped out the Protheans, their empire spanned the entirety of the galaxy, how large a force would that take to destroy them? This is one thing we're not taking chances on."

"Tevos?" Sparatus turned to his Asari counterpart.

"I… agree with Valern and Anderson's assessments," The Asari replied with a sigh. "We're going to have to face facts, Sparatus, Shepard was right, and we've ignored his warnings because there wasn't any proof," she looked up at the feed. "now we have it."

"For what its worth, Councillors," Anderson spoke, shaking his head. "I sometimes wish he was just crazy." he looked up, then to Councillors. "Now, I have some plans to make, I suggest you all get in touch with your military's commanders and begin coordinating efforts in a united front against the Reapers." he said, turned and left the three other councillors. They mutely did just that.

* * *

**Sur'Kash, northern jungle. Cerberus Research Facility. 0820 Hours**.  
Tom exited the elevator with his weapon raised, his Av-Cam still active as he stepped into the large hall where there was multiple doorways, observation windows and behind those were labs of different set ups, most looked like they hadn't been used in awhile though. They were all clean, maybe this facility was new and hadn't been fully prepped yet for whatever Cerberus intended it for?

He stopped at one of the doors, opened it and swept it over with his weapon. It was empty. Moving across the laboratory he went to the back door, it was locked. He frowned, raised his Omni-Tool and waited while it bypassed the security lock.

It clicked, the doors opened.

"Knocking isn't required anymore, is it?" there was a woman in a lab coat looking over a console, inspecting it keenly, she didn't even bother turning to Tom. Apparently used to be barged in on. "Well, what is it now? I'm very busy, these samples sent to me from Genesis are most interesting and require my full attention, so, be bri-" she stopped when there was a gun pressed to her back.

"I'm not with Cerberus," Tom spoke icily. His cloaking deactivated and he added, "Your doctor Janus, correct?"

"Yes…" Janus stammered, tone laced with fear now. "Please… don't hurt me, I'm just a scientist hired by Cerberus to work on some samples for their project, nothing more!" she pleaded.

Tom narrowed his eyes, "Quiet! I don't care who you are, just what you know." he growled. "What is Cerberus doing on Sur'Kash?" Janus tried to turn her head, but the S-III pushed the barrel harder against her back and hissed. "Don't move. Now answer the question."

The doctor's shoulders shook and she whimpered. "This facility was going to be used as a containment facility for one of the Illusive Man's "pet" projects! Something about a Super-Soldier program! Project Spartan or something! I don't know, I wasn't forwarded all the details, I was just told to synthesize certain chemical stimulants for the program!"

Tom's mind raced with the explanation with he was given, Cerberus was developing their own Spartan program? Well, to do that they'd have to have knowledge of the old program. Which so far only Halsey and Mendez knew, along with some high up brass of the Alliance military who were preparing Halsey's new Spartan-IV program. Unless some of those higher ups were in cahoots with Cerberus, which disturbed Tom. He would need to report this to Fred, he deserved that much.

"Anything else, doctor? And please," Tom applied more pressure to the gun. "Don't skim the details."

"This was where the augmentations were going to take place once the troops passed the initial exams! Then they would go to Genesis base for their second set of augmentations, from there I don't know what happens!" Janus replied. "That's all I know!"

"Then you're of no use to me," Tom said coldly with a narrow of his eyes. "But, I am interested in where this Genesis base is, tell me about that."

"It's where the Illusive man takes his troops for reprogramming! Where he turns them into obedient soldiers through drugs, indoctrination and other methods I'm not sure of!" the woman sobbed. "Please, that's all I know! Let me go!"

"You're useless to me now and a liability," Tom's finger began to squeeze the trigger when the doors to the lab opened, Narrowing his eyes Tom shot the doctor and turned to the door with his weapon raised. Two Cerberus troopers stood there, their weapons slowly raising.

Tom's Predator hissed three times. The first went down with a clean headshot while the other got two to the chest, they stumbled back with the force of the shots, laying unmoving from the ground as alarms began to blare across the floor.

"Damn," Tom muttered, turning to the doctor and tossing her body off the table before taking a few pictures with his Omni-tool for the council to see, no time to download any data, he had to escape now or risk capture and a Spartan was never captured so he sure as hell wouldn't be the first.

Turning he bolted from the lab over the bodies and made for the doorway to the elevator. He stopped and deactivated his Av-Cam when the doors slid open and a team of Troopers stepped out, their Mattocks firing down the hall at Tom who's shields came up in time to stop the barrage long enough for him to take cover behind the door frame. He thanks Cerberus Architecture for being so… unnecessary.

"Move onto the target! Command wants him alive for questioning!" one Trooper yelled.

So, they wanted Tom alive. It was a big mistake on their part for using vocal communication without radios when he could hear them, this meant they wouldn't be shooting to kill. A very fatal mistake on their part as well. Tom could use this all to his advantage.

He bolted form cover to the other door, it opened for him and two gave chase, the other two slowly trailed after them in a more cautious pace. The moment the first two stepped through, Tom lashed out from the beside the door, grabbing the closest troopers Mattock and putting it to the side of the second trooper, who fell to the side when on reflex the first pulled the trigger and shot his fellow. Tom followed up with knife to the neck, he jerked it out and spun over to the side of the door and jumping over a table to avoid the gunfire when the other two shot out the observation window.

They jumped into the room and blanketed Tom's cover with suppressing fire, they no doubt would have called reinforcements. He needed to end this quickly, he grabbed his knife and flipped it in his hand, then with a few rounds of blind fire from his Predator, there was a pause in their fire and he stood, spun around and tossed his knife.

It found its mark inside the shoulder of one of the troopers, who growled and stumbled back. His partner raised his weapon for retaliation fire but Tom put him down before he could raise his Mattock. The one with the blade in his shoulder didn't have time to remove the blade before he too was gunned down by Tom's expert marksmanship.

Taking his knife the Spartan hopped through the window and ran to the elevator in time to catch the doors opening, he raised his Predator and put two in the chest of the first trooper he saw, the other five raised their weapons. Tom growled, hit the deck while firing with expert precision, his weapon vented heat and the troopers were on the floor of the elevator, dead or dying.

He stood, then moved into it and pressed the first level. The elevator began to ascend. There was a stop coming up in the level above, Tom lazily reached down, took the grenade from a fallen trooper with a quick "Thanks" before he primed it. The doors slid open, he rolled it out and quickly pressed the door close button.

They slid closed. There was a muffled explosion and the elevator continued its way up. Tom allowed himself a smile, he was good. Reaching the upper level he saw there was a stop on the floor below, he smirked and took another of the troopers grenades. "Hmm…" he hummed lightly.

He then set it for fifteen seconds and let it fall to the floor before stepping out of the elevator and moving towards the security checkpoint. The next people in that elevator were going to get a nasty surprise, he chuckled as he moved to the main lift doors. "Damn I'm good," he said, they slid open.

A foot shot out and kicked him in the chest, hard. He was sent flying back a few feet before he skid to a stop, he jumped to his feet and raised his weapon to the new arrival. He raised his brow, it was a woman by the slender shape of her body, wearing a black mask of sorts that covered her eyes and mouth with a breather and goggles.

"So, you're the intruder," the woman spoke with a cold edge. "Guess I'm lucky I got here as fast as I did, I get to kill you." she drew a metal sword and gripped it firmly.

Tom fired twice for her head and she countered by snapping her arm out and barrier appeared, deflecting his shots. He blinked, that was a new trick.

"Surprised? Here's another." the barrier went down and a shot rang out, the blast was powerful enough to knock Tom off his feet and onto the floor, before he could gather his bearings the woman was on him. Her blade poised to impale him in the chest.

He rolled to the side and she impaled the floor with the sword as if it were butter. He raised his weapon, but her hand shot out and she fired her palm weapon and shot the pistol from his hand, knocking to the other side of the room. He rolled again to avoid the next two shots until he got to his feet.

He ducked, the moment he tried to stand his head was nearly lopped off by a swing. But before he could correct himself, her knee came up and buried itself into his chest. He coughed, gripped it then jerked up with his standing, making her flip up and back. She corrected herself by landing on her feet.

But Tom was already on her with his own speed. His foot raised and slamming into her chest for a powerful kick hat send the woman onto the floor on her back. She spun her legs and onto her feet, the sword held in a reverse grip behind her back with her weapon hand out in a combat stance.

Tom drew his knife and narrowed his eyes. She fired, he ducked to the side and lashed forward with his blade for a hard slash to neck, she parried it with her sword and lifted her knee to impact with his chin, but he leaned his back with the blow, softening it somewhat before his free hand moved forward like lightning with a fist to her solar plexus.

She coughed and staggered back, he stepped back once, pain stabbing his jaw before he shot forward again before she could recover from his attack. Her delivered a jab to her right, her face snapped to the left with his attack, he followed up with a powerful left to her throat. She fell low and made his swing miss entirely, he almost stumbled but caught his footing.

Then he was swept off his feet by her own leg and before he could even hit the floor she brought her blade up, he used his knife to block it. But the blades met and his knife snapped and the blade sliced his shoulder, he hit the floor, rolling to avoid the point-blank shot to his back and kicked her gut with both legs. She hit the top of the ceiling with her the force of the kick, she hit the floor, coughed a few times and looked up in time to see Tom enter the lift and close the doors.

"Damnit!" she growled, her stomach ached. That man had a strong kick. She stood, flicked her sword to clear it of blood and muttered. "Next time," her objective was the extract Janus, not give chase to the intruder. She could wait for now. Lucy didn't like it still.

Tom growled, his shoulder stung and he didn't even win for his trouble, sure he got data on the base and Cerberus' knowledge of the Spartan program, but he wasn't any closer to finding Lucy. His real objective. Who in Hell was that soldier anyway? A new Cerberus soldier? Tom could only guess at this point.

He was outside, he dropped his shields and cloaked. He needed to get to his craft, get off world and inform the council.

* * *

**SSV-Upon Reach, Communications Room. 0830 Hours.**  
Fred, along with the other Spartans, stood at attention as Fleet Admiral Hackett appeared on the holo-projector. "Alpha Team," he saluted calmly.

"Sir!" The Spartans returned the salute. "We were told you had a mission for us?" Fred added when they dropped the salute.

"Yes, a new piece of information has come to our attention and it requires the attention of Alpha Team, I've been told its very important by Halsey, and her recommendation is enough for me," the Admiral explained. "The mission is being headed by Commander Shepard, you're to return to Earth and rendezvous with him there. From there you will head to a remote system and initiate a slipspace jump to the anomaly, understood?"

"Sir, mission parameters accepted!" Fred saluted.

"Good, Hackett out." the connection ended.

Fred turned to his Spartans. "Resting time, return to the barracks and enjoy yourselves, we're a few hours from Earth yet." he said, then added. "Dismissed."

The Spartans shuffled out of the room and Fred wondered what could be so important for Hackett to allow a Slipspace jump?

**End of chapter 17**

**There it is! Chapter 17! Cerberus is being their usual sneaky selves, eh? Hehe. Don't worry, more to come as the build up to the war continues! Now, a nice review would be most awesomely welcome! AND the council finally EAT THEIR WORDS! I know I changed quite a bit, I just HAD to, it always. ALWAYS pissed me off whenever the council reacted to the Reapers...  
**

**Now, I'm going to go lay down again. G'night, my awesome readers!**


	19. Reinstated

**In Infinitum**

**Chapter 18  
Reinstated**

**Earth, Alliance Central Ground Command Centre. 1830 Hours. Two days after CURTAINFALL.**  
Newly appointed Admiral Anderson walked through the halls of the Alliance's Command Center on Earth. It was essentially where the Alliance began so many decades ago when Humanity took to the stars and began to colonize other worlds and get in touch with Galactic Society for the first time. Even if that first time was the First Contact War with the Turians, still. Things had smoothed over relatively well now, especially since Anderson had resigned as Councillor and handed the position over to Udina.

Why would he hand over this position? Simple. For better or worse, Anderson understood once the feed of the Reapers at the Alpha Relay came through that he was wasn't going to be any good behind a desk playing politics, no. He was a soldier and would be best served on the frontlines he knew would be drawn now that the Citadel Council had cold, hard facts that their "dismissed claims" were indeed very real.

The Admiral smiled when he saw the look on Sparatus' face when he told the Turian to "dismiss those!" after seeing the live feed. It was a small victory in a long bloody war to come and Hackett knew it too since the Fleet Admiral had been more then willing to welcome Anderson to the ranks of Admiral. Now there was something Anderson was going to do with his newfound rank and title.

He was going to take Shepard out of lockdown.

Anderson stepped into the elevator, crossed his arms behind his back and waited patiently while he descended down the levels of the massive building to the floor Shepard was being held on house arrest "until further notice" the Alliance committee had said, well, screw them! Shepard was a hero and damned fine soldier who should have been out there already. Not locked down because the species leaders were all too frightened to see the truth.

With a sigh Anderson cooled his nerves. He always got worked up over everything that had been done to Shepard, the Commander had died once already trying to bring all this to light, God bless the man came back, cheated Death to continue fighting for the Galaxy and everyone but Anderson and the crews of the Normandy/s really believed him.

Well, them and The Illusive Man. But that shady fanatic of a man was hardly someone you wanted on your side when trying to win the hearts of the galaxy.

But, as dirty and fanatical as Cerberus was, they had served their purpose to Shepard very well. They provided him with a top-notch crew, a shining new ship and better hardware then the Alliance would have ever given Shepard in a decade. So as begrudgingly as it was.

Anderson had to admit Cerberus did humanity right by bringing back Shepard and sending him after the Collectors.

The doors opened and Anderson stepped out of the elevator and continued onwards. He quickly nodded back to any who stopped to salute along the way until he reached Shepard's assigned apartment, be paused at the sight of two familiar Spartans by the door. He had heard Shepard had bodyguards, he just never expected them to be Spartans.

"Admiral Anderson, sir!" Kelly snapped off a brisk salute the moment Anderson came into view. She was adorned in her traditional MJOLNIR armor as all Spartan-IIs preferred since they had spent more than half their lives inside the suit.

"Admiral!" Mark saluted now.

Like all the Spartan-IIIs in the Alliance, Mark was wearing the SPI Mark-III armor, it wasn't MJOLNIR by a long shot, but it was very effective nonetheless and less costly to make. When Halsey had proposed the manufacturing of MJOLNIR armor for her Spartans, all of them and tallied the total cost of the project the subtotal made half the committee curse and the other half speechless.

Anderson loved that about the doctor. When she wanted something, she just asked and didn't fuss too much when she was denied the funding. The committee's faces still made Anderson wince, he didn't see the subtotal of the project and something told him he didn't want to.

There would probably be too many zeros involved.

"Spartans," Anderson returned the salute. "I hope you two have been keeping Shepard nice and comfortable while he's been here?" he asked, raising a brow in mock seriousness.

Mark didn't speak, like Linda, he had the title of "quiet" and only spoke when he needed to or on those rare occasions he felt it.

It was Kelly who replied to his question. "Yes sir, soon as he got used to the warm food and soft bed, he's been greatly cared for." she paused, waiting a heartbeat before adding. "Any news on the rest of my squad, sir?"

Anderson blinked, he inwardly winced. He knew she was referring to Lucy. "None yet, Spartan, we're still trying to find her," he replied after a moment.

"I see, I'll buzz you in," if Kelly or Mark was disappointed, they didn't show it. Instead the doors hissed open and Anderson stepped inside to see Shepard looking over a datapad. Anderson couldn't see what was on it, but when the door opened Shepard closed it up and turned to him.

"Anderson!" Shepard smiled and held out his hand for his old friend and mentor.

"Shepard! Good to see you," Anderson returned the gestures. "Sorry to just stop in like this, but we're short on time before the committee find some political hogwash to stop me from doing everything I'm about to," he reached into his pocket and withdrew a pair of tags. "Welcome back to the Alliance, Commander." the new Admiral smirked.

Shepard blinked, looking down at the tags before he smiled. "Good to be back," he saluted quickly.

"Walk with me, you're going to need a ship, and I have just the one in mind," Anderson turned and left the room, stopping to look at Mark and Kelly. "Spartans, as of now you're both reassigned to Commander Shepard's crew under his direct command, this Admiral level Authority, clearance is code word lock. The code is "Reapers Descend." understood, Spartans?"

Mark and Kelly nodded, saluted. "Sir!" they chorused.

"Good, report to the shuttle bay and await me and Shepard, we'll be there shortly, double time it, Spartans." Anderson watched as they took off in a steady jog towards the elevator before turning to a very confused Shepard. "Come on."

"Wait, I'm a little confused here, what are you about to do?" Shepard asked. "And why would the committee stop you? They didn't approve this?"

Anderson chuckled and shook his head. "No, but they can't stop me either, they're a civilian council headed by a single Admiral, with me and Hackett backing this little move of mine they can't formally order me to stop, now, lets go get the rest of your crew, I made a list."

As he said that, Anderson handed Shepard a datapad while the two moved towards the elevator. Taking it, Shepard read it over and blinked. "Lieutenant Zachery Alenko." he whispered, looking over to Anderson.

"Yes, Kaiden's older brother, N5 operative, explosive expert, marksman and hand-to-hand combat specialist," Anderson explained without breaking his stride. "He's not a biotic, but he's a highly decorated soldier."

"Colourful career too," Shepard remarked. "He's been demoted twice for insubordination, punching a commanding Officer and breaching military protocol on several different occasions. His scores and track record are impressive, but these are some pretty big smudges." Shepard raised a brow.

"Colourful, yes, but he's on your crew, he's one of the few soldiers I trust because, like you, he knows what it takes to get the job done." Anderson paused. "And I think you'd be a good influence on him."

"Course I would, who else we taking along?" Shepard mumbled to himself before resuming his data reading. He paused and tilted his head, "Sir, who's Onyx? All I'm getting is a ID number, callsign and brief, mostly classified, military history."

"Ah yes, that wasn't one I picked, but Hackett added her to the list, Onyx is her callsign, her real name has been classified to Fleet Admiral level and code word locked, as was most of her information," Anderson explained as he lead Shepard along into a elevator, the descended. "She's part of the newly established "GHOST Project", its an Alliance Black Operations project."

"Like Cerberus was?" Shepard jibed.

"No, not like them. Project Ghost was introduced sometime after your death three years ago, its purpose was to take young individuals and train them in the arts of stealth and assassination," Anderson explained with a edge to his tone. Shepard knew Anderson didn't like those kinds of groups.

"Assassins for the Alliance, huh?" Shepard shook his head. "Where has chivalry gone?"

"Out the airlock, but, as I was saying, these individuals are taken at a young age to some remote colony, unsure where, its classified above me, and trained by various experts, mostly ex-Assassin Drell."

"Woah, Assassin Drell? Like Thane Krios?" Shepard asked in surprise. He remembered his Drell friend, Thane. Had been a hell of a fighter in close quarters, a damned fine shot and the epitome of patience, spirituality and professionalism. A good friend as well.

"Mr. Krios is currently aiding with the project, yes," Anderson nodded with a smile. "He came highly recommended apparently, someone high up on the chain likes you, Shepard," they both knew it was Hackett. "He's been receiving daily medical care for his illness, but he can still teach hand to hand combat techniques, sniping and other crucial skills that Ghost needs its Operatives to know."

"Sounds like the Alliance has been busy while I've been away."

"We're just adapting to what Halsey, Mendez and the other Spartans have taught us. Halsey is a genius and her designs for new ship engines, Element Zero engines, of course, the Alliance is keeping its newer ships under very tight watch."

"Tight watch? New ships? Why?"

"Well, because ships like the one I'm giving you are beginning to adapt to Halsey's universe, only two are in existence as it is, they're extremely expensive to build, but Halsey's new Eazo core designs are making the Alliance a hefty profit with the Asari and Turian fleets." Anderson chuckled and smiled. "The woman is something else, I swear she doesn't sleep some nights, too busy proposing ideas and making improvements to current tech."

"sounds really incredible…" Shepard muttered.

"Anyways, the ship I'm giving you is our newest Cruiser, it's larger than the Normandy by far, but its much more suitable to your needs, it runs off three fusion reactors rather then a Element Zero core, it's one of the few ships that Halsey has designed personally, it's called "Upon Reach", a choice name if the look on her face when said it means anything." Anderson stepped out of the elevator when the elevator doors opened.

Shepard followed after him. "Sir, what about the Normandy?"

"It's been locked down and reassigned to special divisions for reconnaissance purposes, but don't worry, they might have taken your ship and most of the old crew, but I saved a few key personal. Joker for one, and EDI."

"You got EDI? How?" Shepard was really surprised now, he couldn't really see how Anderson got EDI from one ship to another.

"A memory crystal, as Halsey called it, first of its kind and relatively cheap to produce despite complexity of it, it held EDI comfortably until she can be transferred to the Reach," Anderson stopped at a pair of double doors. "Hackett is got the Reach moved back here to Earth for a special assignment, one I'm about to give you."

Shepard cocked a brow. "What's the job?"

"Shepard, I wish you didn't find out this way, but the Reapers have been made known to the galaxy, roughly a day and a half ago they came through the Alpha Relay, a small fleet of them and began to defend the relay until it could send more, we stopped it, but it's confirmed our fears, the Reapers are planning to invade in full force." Anderson's tone was grim. Shepard couldn't blame him, the Reapers were stuff of nightmares. "The mission I'm sending you on is vital." he paused, glancing around before moving to the door.

"Access code required, please speak identification code." a synthetic voice muttered from the pad beside the door.

"God blessed." Anderson said simply. The doors opened, he and Shepard stepped inside to see Doctor Halsey, who was dressed in more "modern" scientist attire of the current universe, her hair was now kept in a neat little pony tail behind her head, since it just reach below her neck. Her eyes were still as sharp as Shepard remembered them.

Beside her was obviously Mendez, the man's expression was stone as usual. But that wasn't all Shepard noticed, "Commander, sir!" Shepard broke into a salute.

Mendez now wore the rank of Senior Strike Commander. A few grades above Shepard's own Commander rank. "At ease, Commander," Mendez nodded and looked to Halsey. "Doctor?"

"Hello again, Commander Shepard," Halsey gave a small smile. "Anderson, pleasure as usual, you remember Mendez?"

"Yes, Halsey, Mendez." Anderson saluted.

"Now, Shepard, what I'm about to tell you is Admiral classified, you are to tell no one," Halsey began, staring straight as Shepard with her piercing eyes. "Nine hours ago, Alliance picked a signal, it was unknown and using… patterns, they didn't recognize, so they had me look at it, what I saw amazed me, but its very important you track it and find the source.

"Why? What's the signal?"

Halsey frowned and continued. "Because, Shepard. The signal the Alliance picked up was an IFF transponder from a ship from my universe, a ship called "_The Spirit of Fire_", it was long thought lost since its random slipspace jump from Reach." she explained. "Obviously, I can't pull up data on it, since it technically shouldn't exist in this universe, but that's not stopping me and my Spartans from being here."

Shepard narrowed his eyes. Another drop from their universe? This was becoming more interesting as the doctor spoke. But what did this mean for the Alliance? "How could it have gotten here?"

"I imagine the same way the Covenant did, Shepard. Dumb luck," Halsey replied. "We've given you access to _Upon Reach_ cruiser because it operates on a non-element Zero core and its greatest feature, a Shaw-Fujikawa slipspace drive."

Slipspace drive, if Shepard remembered correctly that was the engine core that allowed ships in Halsey's universe to FTL travel, it wasn't as quick as the Mass Relays, but it had a huge advantage. It worked everywhere, no relay required, you just punched in coordinates and off you went. But he also remembered she had said it was very expensive to produce.

"Where do you get funding for all this?"

"Classified," Halsey replied in turn. "Just know it has one and that's what you're going to use to get to the _Spirit_, no relays. Your trail must be absolutely ghost, because not only is this a Slipspace drive, but it combines your Element Zero cores with itself, meaning it's even faster then those of my universe. Much, probably on par with the Covenant's own. This is to remain secret, can't risk any of the other species getting wind of our advances, God knows what sort of political B.S. the council will try to impose on us if they get a scent of it all." she rolled her eyes.

Halsey didn't like how the council imposed sanctions and limits on races who joined them, she felt it was simple paranoia and outright cowardice on their part. Fearing a force bigger than them would try to topple their whole system on a whim, Halsey wasn't so foolish, if Shepard's reports on the Reapers were correct, they needed as much power as they could get.

"Alright, so you want me to find this ship?"

"Precisely, and any survivors aboard, bring them back to Alliance Space where me, Hackett and Mendez can debrief them." Halsey replied simply, entwining her fingers. "Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," Shepard replied with a nod. "And if there are no survivors?"

"We'll cross that bridge if we come to it, Commander, just find the ship for now, dismissed. The Reach should be in orbit waiting for you." she smiled. "Good luck as well, Commander. This could be yet another turning point in the war against these… Reapers." Halsey wrinkled her nose, Shepard could tell she wanted to say something else in place of the Reapers. He guessed the "Covenant" her tale spoke of when she came here.

Shepard saluted, he and Anderson promptly left towards the elevator again.

"She seems eager." Shepard commented.

"You would be too if you found out there was a possibility of more of your own forces rejoining you in a new universe on the verge of war," Anderson replied in stride. "Just be thankful for this, if what she told me about the _Spirit of Fire_ is correct, she'll be a dreadnought in herself."

Shepard nodded. "Got it, Anderson."

So, he was being given a brand new ship with new technology and some of his old crew back with some new faces. This was going to be very interesting indeed.

* * *

**The Citadel, Presidium Apartment Complex A5-B. 1830 Hours.**  
Spectre Tom Ambrose was staring at himself in the mirror of his new apartment. He had been assigned this new, higher class apartment a day ago after he had reported his findings on Sur'Kash to Councillor Valern. Needless to say the Salarian was very pleased, and shocked, to hear that Cerberus had put a base on his species homeworld. But Tom imagined Cerberus would be expulsed soon enough.

When they asked about the strange soldier who had nearly killed him. Tom couldn't explain to them who it was, only that is was a woman and she was damned tough, well trained and had tech unlike he'd ever seen before. Before he could go into further depth on his speculations he was dismissed and told to rest until they needed him again.

He sighed, looking down into the sink as he ran the steaming hot water. His chiselled body, finely toned from years of warfare, was littered in healed scars of varying age, was covered from the waist down by simple pants. He was pale, his hair had grown longer as well. He looked much different from the young Soldier he once was when he and Lucy had been sent on TORPEDO so many years ago.

Eyes closing and fists clenching he grit his teeth. He would find his comrade, the last remaining Beta Company member alive besides himself, He and her had survived where everyone else died, where Min and Adam had died. He closed his eyes and got lost in the memories…

"_Go_!" Adam had cried. "_I'll hold them_."

The Spartan-III opened his eyes and he swore he saw the bright flash as Min disappeared from existence.

He sighed once and looked at his shoulder, it was scarred pink where it had been taken care of at a local clinic. It was a quick and cheap operation that left Tom's considerable funding barely scratched. Now, however, he could fully focus on what was bothering him.

In the time Tom had been a Spectre, no opponent had ever come as close as that woman had to killing him, it was a rarity he get injured and when he did it was cause he messed up, this injury on his shoulder was caused because his opponent was skilled in combat. She had been fast as him, parrying then counter attacking with reflexes that matched his own in almost every way.

And her voice, it reminded him of Lucy. But that would be impossible, Lucy wouldn't work for an enemy of the Alliance no matter what, no. it wasn't Lucy, that much Tom was sure of. But it was someone with Spartan level augmentation, from what Janus had told him Cerberus was just getting it all set up. Maybe the woman was a subject who was treated at a different facility? It was the only explanation he could think of other then that maybe Cerberus had more capable agents then he or the Alliance suspected.

Before he could sink further into his musings his Omni-tool beeped, with a sigh the Spartan-III walked over to his gauntlet and put it on, opening the channel. "Ambrose here."

"_Ambrose, it's Bailey, I ran that check on Doctor Janus like you wanted, turns out your hunch was right, she does have an associate here on the Citadel. A sister, Samantha Janus_," Commander Bailey's voice came through, Bailey was a C-sec officer and one of Tom's contacts on the citadel.

"What's her residence?" Tom asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"_Apartment Complex S five R_," Bailey replied. "Room three, twenty-four."

"Got it, Thank Bailey," Tom felt his lips quirk slightly.

"_No problem, be safe kid_." the line closed.

Tom stood. Grabbing his civilian gear he got dressed quickly, after that was done he walked over to his personal desk and tapped a key on his console. The lower frame of his bed slid out to reveal an assortment of weapons, mostly small arms. Walking over to it he kneeled and swept it, taking a Phalanx handgun, he checked it over before grabbing a Paladin, a powerful, four shot hand cannon that was smaller then the Carnifex and packed more punch. A good balance to the Phalanx.

Storing them in custom fabric holsters, the Phalanx in plain view on his left thigh and the Paladin under his right arm. He walked back over to his desk, tapped the key to hide his weapons and then left the apartment and went towards the parking area for his speeder. He was going to pay Janus' sister a visit and see if the woman knew anything about her late sister's employers.

It took him half an hour to reach the apartment complex and three minutes to find her room. The door was locked, he frowned then tapped "doorbell", for a moment there was silence until the door slid open and revealed a dark haired, blue eyed woman of slightly pale skin tone with an oversized shirt on as covering, her hair was dishevelled and Tom guessed she had been sleeping.

"What is it?" her tone supported his guess.

"I'm Spectre Ambrose, I need to speak with you concerning your sister," Tom didn't bother to ask if he could enter, he stepped inside. "Take a seat, since I'm a Spectre I am getting my answers one way or another."

Samantha frowned and her temper flared. "Hey! You can't just barge in here! Spectre or no!" she marched over to him and gripping his bicep, he spun around and gripped her wrist. Tightly. "Ow! You're hurting me!"

"I can do worse if you don't cooperate," Tom whispered in a more low and dangerous tone. "Now, take a seat, this will go by much smoother if you don't throw a ruckus." he said more firmly, letting her wrist go.

Hesitant, but he could tell by the fear in her eyes she understood he wasn't someone you wanted to cross. She moved into the kitchen and sat at the table, silently watching as he sat opposite of her.

"You sister was a doctor, right?" He asked. She nodded, "Did she tell you anything about her research?" he asked now.

"Nothing," Samantha replied quietly.

"You're lying," Tom hissed, glaring at her. "I can tell, your not the first to try lying to me, let me ask again. Did, she, tell you anything about her research?"

Samantha swallowed, glancing to the side then back to him before leaning forward and whispering. "I can't tell you, they're watching me. Cerberus Operatives…" her tone was both fearful and desperate. "They said they'd kill me if I told anyone about my sister if they came looking."

Tom frowned, glancing at the window as well. He knew it wasn't bulletproof so sniper was a likely case. He still needed her intel, "I can protect you," he said back, tone more calm now. "I just need a promise you will tell me everything you know about your sister," he added firmly.

"You can't protect me, not from Cerberus," She shook her head. "I'm sorry, but if I tell you anything, they kill me."

"And if you don't tell me anything, I'll kill you here right now," Tom replied dully, giving her a hard glare. "Tell me, Samantha, would you rather take your chances with the Cerberus sniper possibly watching you? Or with me? A council spectre who can and will put a bullet in your head and get away with it because of my mentioned title." he crossed his arms over his chest.

The woman frowned, eyes flashing slightly as she began to think. "Are you sure you can protect me?" she whispered.

"Yes," Tom nodded.

Samantha sighed, then with a firm resolution in her eyes she nodded. "Alright, I'll tell you, but you have to get me out of here first." she said, just as firm as the fire in her beautiful eyes.

Tom blinked, then nodded once and said. "Alright, this is going to hurt though," he said, reaching into his coat.

"What I-Hey!" Samantha screamed when he fired a concussive round into her chest at point blank range. She hit the floor in an unconscious heap.

Tom stood, staring down at her before he shook his head and walked over to the window. He closed the blinds and waited, no gunfire he turned to her and picked her up and over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and carried her out back into the hall before moving over to the parking area. He sighed once, this was going to be troublesome. Least she wasn't being watched by snipers like he had thought.

That was a plus, he supposed.

* * *

**Cerberus Genesis Base, Horsehead Nebula, Aries system. 1950 Hours.**  
Lucy frowned as she gently racked her fingers against the desktop while she waited to see Evangel. That man she had fought, the intruder. Was on her mind, as he had been for the last days since she had fought him. Something about him was bugging her, he seemed familiar somehow, the way he fought and moved, it made something inside her remember him. She couldn't place her finger on it and it was giving her a headache, a literal headache.

"Damnit…" she mumbled, lazing scraping her nail over the desk now. Why couldn't she shake the feeling? "Oh whatever! It's probably nothing."

"What's nothing?" Evangel asked, suddenly behind her.

"Geez doc," Lucy hissed at him dangerously. "Sneaking up on people like can get you killed," she muttered before she added, "And nothing, just the one who got away." she shrugged.

"Oh, yes the young man from the Sur'Kash facility, stolen your heart has he?" Evangel teased before he gestured her into his office. Following him inside she ignored the boringly white walls and standard Cerberus paintjob, it was all she'd seen before. "So, why the audience?"

"My talents are wasted here at Genesis," Lucy stated bluntly. "I want another assignment, preferably off base. Or even off planet." she crossed her arms and stared at the doctor.

Evangel regarded her for a moment before shrugging. "That's possible, I suppose," he said with a smile. "There's some business on Omega that the Illusive wanted taken care of, normally he'd send Leng to handle it, but… Mr. Leng is busy, so he forwarded it to me, and I am not handing it to you," he tapped a key on his desktop console.

Lucy's Omni-tool chirped. She raised it and checked the file she received, "Seems simple enough, more a milk run than anything else," she said with an air of disapproval. "Nothing better?"

"Nope," Evangel said cheerily. "Just find him, bring him back here so we can chat, see what he told the Alliance, then we gently retire him." he waved her off, "Now go on, shoo."

Lucy frowned, biting back a growl when he shoo'd her. Standing up and turning she briskly left his office and headed towards the shuttle bay. "Crazy bastard," she mumbled, shaking her head and running a hand through her hair.

She went through the operation, a Cerberus scientist had gotten cold feet and decided to flee to Omega to lay low until they could secure passage to the Citadel where they would likely spill their guts to the council about Cerberus in exchange for protection, a good plan if they hadn't made the mistake of going to Omega, very few ships that went there ever went into Citadel space. A mistake Lucy was going to take full advantage of.

Lucy grinned. This was going to be fun.

* * *

**End of chapter 18**

**There it is, Chapter 18. Now, it seems a bit boring, I'm sorry. Next chapter things will get a more rolling, I plan to start the war soon, for now its just buildup and side plots. Now, to all who wished me well, thank you and I am feeling a bit better. Laughing no longer causes me hacking fits, so that's a plus! **

**For those who pointed out Tom would have recognized Lucy, well. I know its unrealistic, but at the same time its understandable, they don't know anything about indoctrination, nor does Tom understand the tech of the ME verse as well as others, he can't really know that Cerberus doesn't have the tech to make Spartans. That and I'm lazy…so sue me!**

**Now, please leave a nice review, I'd love that as reviews feed me!**


	20. Those who shake the galaxy

**In Infinitum**

**Chapter 19  
Those who shake the galaxy**

**SSV-**_**Upon Reach**_**, Slipspace, en route to **_**Spirit of Fire**_**'s location. 2210 Hours.**  
"EDI, how's the ship?" Shepard asked as he stood inside the bridge of his new ship,

The Cruiser-Class _Upon Reach _was a marvel or technology and Shepard had to admit, while it wasn't the Normandy, it certainly felt very comforting to be wrapped in three layers of shielding then several inches of Titanium A plating. He also had EDI give him a weapons status and listing on his personal terminal.

He "whooped" with glee at the list of weapons he had at his disposal. Something called a MAC gun. Which EDI informed him was just a very large version of their own weapons, currently it was loaded with thirty slugs. Twenty "light" and ten "heavy" rounds, he guessed that using the heavies sparingly was a good idea. Next he had GARDIAN point defense laser turrets mounted below, on top, behind and on the front of the ship for fighter defense. A scaled up version of the Thanix laser was mounted on the lower front of the vessel for added offensive capability along with four pods of anti-ship missiles.

This ship was a fortress.

"The ship is performing at optimal specifications," EDI replied, then added with a more "nice" tone. "It is also quite roomy."

Shepard shook his head with a small chuckle before turning to Joker. "How is she control wise? Having any trouble?"

"Not at all, Commander," Joker replied. "Handles like the Normandy, more or less, just… y'know, larger and more deadly then should really be legal."

"Yeah, well, we're going to need it, the Reapers are coming and something tells me they're going to be a little mad about their failed entry through the Alpha Relay," Shepard said with a more serious tone before observing "Slipspace".

It wasn't the electric blue like normal FTL travel, this was more purplish pink mixed with shades of bright white. Made Shepard kinda dizzy if he stared at it too long without blinking, tearing his gaze away he muttered a soft "freaky" before turning away and marching down to the hall towards the elevator.

"EDI, how long until FTL exit?"

"Estimates put it at four minutes, give or take a few micro seconds," EDI replied simply.

"Good, tell the ground team to meet me in the hanger bay, I want to be ready to go aboard in case this ship needs help," Shepard ordered.

"Understood, Commander," EDI went silent shortly for a moment. "Messages away."

Shepard knew by the time he'd reach the hanger bay his team would already be there and waiting to begin this operation on an "alien" ship for technology that could tip the scale in the coming war with the Reapers. He just had hoped it was well used when he did hand it over to the Alliance.

"Exiting Slipspace now, Commander," EDI reported. The ship jerked slightly and Shepard knew they were in normal space, he still had to get used to this "Slipspace" business, least they were getting started though.

* * *

**Citadel Embassies, SPECTRE Offices. 2300 Hours.**  
There was a perk to being one of the Council's top Spectres was that he had access to his own private Spectre office for his own devices between missions and for secrecy like this he needed it, his "guest" would be waking soon if he his guess was right. Then they could have their conversation and hopefully another lead on Cerberus.

The woman released a soft groan.

Tom lifted his head, crossing his arms he said. "I had to knock you out, couldn't risk you trying to get away from me or causing problems on the way here," he explained flatly without apologizing. "Now, about your sister?"

"My chest feels like someone shot it…" She grumbled, lifting her head to glare at him. "What trouble? I told you I'd come willingly."

"You were willing, unconscious, but willing," Tom countered easily, then narrowed his dark eyes and said. "Now, your sister."

"You're not even going to say sorry? What sort of jackass are you?" she growled, indignant.

Tom growled out. "A Spectre, that's what, now. Tell me about your sister or your protection from Cerberus will be short lived."

She blinked, not expecting the threat to come out so blatantly and harshly. She suddenly realized that the man in front of her had something inside his eyes. A great anger towards Cerberus. She was dealing with a Spectre with a vendetta.

"Well, she said she was working with Cerberus on a special program they were going to use to make super soldiers for their own private army, I imagine they paid well since my sister is normally against terrorists, then again…" Samantha paused. "She mentioned a base called Genesis once and something in her tone said she it was all very hush hush."

"Did she say where it was?" Tom asked sharply.

"Yeah, remote system, uh… I believe it was somewhere in the Hades Gamma cluster," She shrugged.

Tom frowned, but nodded and considered the information. "You're sure she said it was there?"

"Yup," Samantha nodded.

Ambrose considered this information, it wouldn't take him long to get to the Hades Gamma Cluster, it was relatively "close" to the Citadel and made for a short seven hour trip if he called in a favor from one of his more well connected contacts on the Citadel who could get him the fastest transport with the least noticeable silhouette in the Galaxy.

But this Genesis Base, Cerberus wasn't sloppy when it came to came to making sure their information was well hidden, it was far too often that Tom had to find one of their operatives only for them to kill themselves or end up dead when their Cerberus contact detonated the small explosive that had been surgically implanted on their heart, this was a new tactic for Cerberus. Since the older agents hadn't shown this device until two months ago.

"What's this?"

Samantha's voice brought Tom from his musings and saw she had wondered over to a different end of his office, there was a single suit of SPI Mark II armor, his suit, behind a cage of clear, perfectly clean glass. The golden sheen of the visor stared down at Samantha, the armor itself was clean but the damages it had obtained from Onyx were all still there, plasma burns, scars and dents.

"An experimental armor system developed by the Alliance that didn't take off, that's the only suit of it left in existence," Tom replied with the easy half-truth, the armor was experimental and it had never taken off for general use for the UNSC, not the Alliance.

Samantha scrutinized the armor and said, "It doesn't look like anything the military would make, its very… classical."

Tom knew she wanted to say old, but decided that maybe insulting the armor of the Spectre who had been nothing short of harsh to her so far. Well, not too harsh, Tom had to admit he was being almost overly lenient towards her. But something told him that if he was anything else with her she'd not have told him anything.

"Yeah, classical," Tom said offhandedly. "It's based off Legionaire armor mixed with some more modern designs, as you can see, its too bulky for practical use, soldiers trying to fit ten of those into a Mako."

Tom's Omni-Tool beeped once, then twice and he raised it. Reading it over he narrowed his eyes.

**/MESSAGE CONTENT/  
To: SPECTRE Operative Ambrose  
From: /CLASSIFIED/  
Subject: /CLASSIFIED/  
/START FILE/****/**  
Ambrose,_ I won't waste your time on pointless chit-chat. I've looked into your request for special transport that was under the radar without anyone bothering you or asking questions, I have the perfect vessel for you in mind and hand. SR2 is currently on leave on Noveria. Report to the Captain and tell her the following sentence exactly._  
"_Official order D-214, Operative Ambrose. (Insert your destination here)."  
This will grant you Vice Admiral secrecy and a tight lipped lid on the whole thing until she's given the counter order. Good luck, Ambrose._**  
/END FILE/  
/END MESSAGE/**

Tom frowned but said nothing when Samantha inquired if something was wrong, he just always felt disturbed whenever he was contacted by this person. Someone who knew Tom's personal Omni-Tool frequency and had strong connections within the Alliance, only three times had this person contacted him to inform Tom of situations and all three times had been correct.

Before he could muse on who his mystery informant was. There was the briefest of taps on his shoulder and on instinct, his hand shot up like lightning and gripped the wrist of the invading limb, "Stop that," Tom muttered turning to Samantha.

"Sorry, just you spaced…" she gave a sheepish grin. "Won't happen again."

"Right," Tom shook his head and ran a hand through his messy hair before rounding on her. "You'll go to this apartment," he held out an old fashioned piece of paper for her, she took it. "I have an appointment on Noveria and then another planet, I'll be gone for roughly a week, inside the apartment is enough supplies to last you till I return." he paused, raising a hand and placing it onto her shoulder. "You'll be safe there, even from Cerberus."

She frowned, then shook her head. "No way, Spectre, I'm not letting you out of my sight, something tells me you're going to do something very dangerous… and that you'll need backup," she crossed her arms and said with a more firm tone. "I'm going with you."

"This isn't up for negotiation," Tom said.

"Good," Samantha grinned. "I'm not negotiating."

Tom frowned, but saw she wasn't going to bend on the matter. Something inside himself said she would come in handy, how? He didn't know. But his gut told him to bring her, "Fine, make ready. We leave in half an hour."

She whooped.

* * *

**Omega Station, Back alley in Vorcha Territory. 2300 Hours.**  
Omega always had an air of hostility about it at all times that put Lucy on guard everywhere she went, even in the loose coat she wore to cover her Cerberus armor, she wasn't wearing the goggles or mask, showing her sharp purple hued eyes to all as she passed them in the streets in search of her target. A scientist by the name of Calam Jarrod. Male, six- three, Caucasian with dark hair and eyes to match. An average male who was apparently a genius when it came to the topic of Indoctrination, something the Illusive Man had taken an interest in since obtaining an artifact of Saren's Flagship, Sovereign.

A Batarian bumped her shoulder harshly. She stopped and so did he, her eye turned to him. His fists clenched and he hissed, "Watch where you're going, human."

Human, he spat the word as if poison. It sparked an anger inside her she never knew existed, she suddenly wanted to tear and slice into this pathetic Batarian's body with her blade, which was hidden beneath the coat since it reached down past her knees. With a soft tone of snide sarcasm she replied, "Sorry, I tried to knock you on your ass, but I didn't push hard enough."

The Batarian's eyes lit with anger, he whirled around and growled. "You little bitch!" his hand reached for her coat collar.

Her hand snapped up and caught his wrist. It stopped him cold and his hand shook in an attempt to free himself, her grip was steel on his palm.

"Let go!"

"No," Lucy reached into her coat slowly, his other arm moved to grab something, likely a gun, in his own clothing and Lucy smirked. The sound of metal on metal pierced the air briefly before the Batarian watched his arm split and his hand, still in Lucy's grasp, move away with a small spurt of colored blood.

"I think I'll hold onto this." she said while observing the hand in her hold.

He blinked, the pain not yet registering as his mind tried to process what had just happened. His arm was gone from mid forearm down and in her once free hand was a sword of some kind, his grip tightened on the gun handle in his arm as pain lanced up his arm and he screamed in agony while he fell to his knees.

Lucy wiped his blood off on his shoulder, turned and looked at his hand disgustedly before muttering, "On second thought, you can keep it." she tossed it over her shoulder, it struck his face and hit the ground. His screams grew louder as she walked away, feeling oddly victorious.

In no time her search brought her to Omega's center of activity for the wealthy and wild, Afterlife. With a raise of her brow she moved to the front entrance and paused when the bouncer stopped her.

"What's your business here?" The Batarian asked. Unlike handless, this one was armored, carried an M6-Carnifex and was professional.

"Just sightseeing, looking for a drink," Lucy's tone matched his and they watched the other, sizing each other up until he held out his hand…then gestured her inside. With a nod, she moved past him and entered the club.

The inside of the club was far more wild then the outside hinted at, but there was also a more tame air inside the club too. There were drinkers getting drunk and looking for some fun for the night, then you had people speaking at tables talking business and serious matters, this club was chaos and balance both. She looked over the crowd inside with careful eyes.

Nothing, her target wasn't here it seemed. But, something crossed her mind. Aria t'loak was "head" of Omega and her private booth was above Lucy where the most powerful person on Omega sat and observed the whole crowd like a God among its servants.

Lucy decided it was worth a shot, anyone on Omega worth knowing Aria knew about and a Cerberus Scientist was definitely someone of merit for knowing. She approached the stairway to the booth, was stopped and before Lucy could even reply the guard's com unit beeped, he placed a finger to his ear then stepped aside with a brisk. "Go ahead."

She ascended the stairs with careful strides and reached the top, there sat the beautifully deadly Aria, sitting like the queen she claimed to be. "Well, don't get much Cerberus agents here on Omega," Aria spoke first. "What brings you here?"

"A man has fled here from me," Lucy didn't lie. "I need to find him, Calam Jarrod, scientist, you know him?"

"Yeah, he boarded a shuttle bound for the Citadel twenty or so minutes ago, you're a little too late to catch your prey now, Agent," Aria replied, no insults meant apparently since her tone was blank as new paper.

Lucy however was livid with a deep anger, she had missed her target and said target was now bound for the Citadel. Someplace she wasn't authorized to go unless permitted b her mission parameters, no. That wasn't right, her mission was to catch Jarrod. That didn't necessarily mean to stay on Omega, no. If her target moved, she moved.

"Can you arrange transport for me?" Lucy asked.

"What do I get?" Aria replied smoothly, shifting her legs and crossing her arms.

"Ten thousand, here and now," Lucy understood perfectly that Aria was in charge here, not her. She had no leverage but being civil and playing the rule of Omega.

Aria stared hard at Lucy, then nodded slowly. "A cargo shuttle in league with the Blue Suns is going to leave port Five-D in ten minutes, I'll ship you in a crate to the Citadel with it and from there, you're on your own, deal?"

"Deal." Lucy had been in worse conditions, a crate was first class to what she sometimes had to hide inside to get into a secure location.

"Good, get going and leave the credits with Jango down there," she gestured to the guard who had stopped Lucy at the bottom of the stairs. "Don't let the door hit you on the way out." she added.

"Thank you, Aria," Lucy bowed her head, turned and marched down the stairs. Dropping a credit chit in Jango's hand as she walked by him and leaving Afterlife in the direction of the dock where her ship that she was going to stow away on was waiting for her.

* * *

**SSV-**_**Upon Reach**_**, Unknown space. 0220 Hours.**  
"_Holy shit!_" Joker exclaimed for what Shepard felt was the fiftieth time already as the circled the large ship they had exited Slipspace near. "_That thing is… massive_!"

"I know, Joker. You've only gawked at it since we got here," Shepard muttered with a small sigh of annoyance. Shepard, Alenko, Kelly and Mark sat inside the Jager shuttle, which was far more roomy than what an outside look would suggest. They all fit comfortably on one side and still had room for eight more soldiers on the other.

"This isn't even that big," Kelly remarked offhandedly beside Shepard as she stared out the window too. "Still, nice to see a friendly ship, even if it does look a bit older then I remember."

"Older?" Shepard replied with a raised brow while turning to the Spartan.

"Yeah, has signs of age, not too big, but its there," she paused a second then added. "Shouldn't be, only been twenty years since they disappeared."

Twenty years, huh? Shepard shook his head and muttered. "EDI, any reply on the com?"

"None, Shepard. I detect the ship still has power, but there are no signals being broadcast sides the distress signal.," there was a pause in the AI's voice. "Scanning has revealed no life signs, but atmosphere and internal pressure is all stable, it also has full power."

Shepard waited a moment before he turned to his team, "Rules of engagement are return fire only, if it's human do not kill it and make sure to report any movement, even a shadow, I don't like this." The Commander's gut felt like it did every time it did before he found himself in the middle of some ambush. He felt like Akuze.

"Found a docking bay, Commander. Doors look open," The Jager pilot called from the front, "Do I take us in?"

Shepard's gut said no, but he still replied. "Do it," he turned to his team, "Alenko, Mark and Kelly, we're splitting into two teams," he suddenly wished he had all of Alpha Team. Fred, Ash, Linda, Olivia… if he remembered his intel right, Jorge had been sent to Halsey and Mendez to aid in the production of Spartan-IV program. "Kelly, you and Alenko are team two, Mark, we're team one."

"Sir!" Mark and Kelly saluted.

Their Banshee Assault Rifles clicked into "active" firing mode, Shepard was thankful to Halsey and Anderson who had his armory outfitted with the newest tech and weapons for his team, even Shepard's N7 armor had been modified heavily. It was now more like the SPI-Mark III armor. It was matte black, the standard red-white stripe down the right arm. The golden visor shone lightly when in the light.

He glanced to Alenko, the man was also adorned in SPI Mark III. Full black color and a belt full of whatever explosives he carried in the compartments on it. His helmet was off and he stared at the floor with a heavy gaze, he looked up at Shepard and something flashed there in the dark pits before he slid the helmet on to replace his face with the golden sheen of the SPI visor.

Shepard could see it, there was something there about Kaiden's death in his brothers eyes, hate? Anger? Shepard couldn't tell. He didn't want to think about Virmire, he looked at his hand and flexed it then clenched it into a tight fist. The tech in the armor was amazing to say the least about it, like the MJOLNIR armor that Kelly wore. The SPI mark III armor linked with Shepard and Alenko's neural implants to increase their movement speed and strength. It also allowed Shepard and Alenko to communicate with the Spartans near instantaneously with "thought"

But, it wasn't without risks, due to the "thought" reacting nature of the armor if he wasn't aware of the movements he was making at all times he could make his own movements much more wide, hard or soft then he intended. In fact, this armors reactive crystal layer could, if Shepard was really sloppy, snap his limbs. He suddenly wished he took Halsey's advice and did some basic training with this armor, then again. Shepard's reaction time charting matched Mark's SPARTAN-III styled one.

Alenko's reaction charting was also passable, just barely however and so Halsey had outfitted his armor with a VI to regulate pulses from his brain to his armor, so there was a less of a chance Alenko would punch himself in the face trying to scratch his nose.

"Taking us in, Commander."

The shuttle's engines hummed lightly as they accelerated, then dulled when they decelerated. Shepard looked out the slit of the window, saw a darkened loading bay, the doors had been opened and the area was likely zero-G. "Alright, once we set off, return to the Reach and await my orders for extraction."

"Got it, sir."

Shepard let the door slide open and in a hiss, the compartment they were in depressurized in a sharp hiss. He scanned the area carefully and slowly with his Banshee AR, when he was satisfied that there wasn't any immediate threat he raised his hand, then gestured them forward.

Two little blue lights winked on his HUD. Mark and Kelly's names were beside them. Shepard suddenly felt stupid, he had been briefed that was how the Spartans communicated most of the time, those little lights spoke volumes to them. Green flashes were basic orders, red and orange were others.

He'd get Kelly to teach him later. For now, he'd use traditional methods.

Kelly and Mark stepped forward, then "jumped" down onto the cargo deck of the ship. They more or less just pushed with their weight downwards from the shuttle, they hit the deck with soft clangs and their mag boots automatically attached themselves to the steel flooring, they both scanned the area.

Kelly's light winked green.

Shepard nodded to Alenko. The N5 returned the gesture and they followed the Spartan's lead. They hit the deck, raised their Banshees and covered the blind spots the Spartans couldn't. When it was deemed all clear, Shepard opened a com to the Reach when the shuttle left the hanger. "Alpha-one, this is Shepard. Make your team ready and on standby, if things get hot on this thing I want you all on the next shuttle in, understood?"

"Sir, understood!" Fred's voice held that tinge of excitement.

Then again, Shepard had been told the hardest thing a Spartan could do was sit and do nothing when a mission was underway. They all preferred to be on the mission instead of off it.

"Team two," Shepard started, gesturing to a door across the area marked "To Amory" above the door. "Cover that door," he turned to Mark and gestured to a console beside the hanger bay doors they had entered with. "We're going to close these doors," he said.

Mark and Kelly's lights winked green. Alenko nodded.

They moved to their tasks with that professional air you'd see from a veteran unit like the N number special operations and Spartan Program. Shepard felt more comfortable, but not fully. His gut was still telling something was wrong here. He reached the console, turned to Mark. "close the doors, I'll cover you."

"Commander," Mark nodded and tapped the console key, then another and one more. The doors screeched, hissed and started to close. Soon, they were sealed and the room hissed again, this time to signal that air was being filtered into it. As it was filled, the air took on a small greenish ting to it, as if it were stale.

"EDI, can you run a more thorough scan of the ships life support system?" Shepard muttered into the com, suddenly feeling like he was being watched.

"Running…" EDI paused a brief second, then added. "Air filters are contaminated by unknown substance, appears organic in nature… purpose unknown, recommend keeping your helmets on. Commander."

Shepard didn't need to be told that, he didn't like the feeling of this unknown mist. It sent a weird feeling of foreboding through him. The Commander shook it and said, "Helmets stay on, Team two, head to the bridge and find the flight logs. Mark, you and I are headed to the Armory, then the cryo chambers to look for the crew."

"Understood," Alenko replied.

More green lights. Shepard felt like Mark and Kelly were enjoying this.

They moved across the hanger to the door Kelly and Alenko were guarding. They waited until they stacked up on it, then Kelly hit the panel beside it. The door hissed open and Kelly and Alenko stepped through it their weapons raised to scan the hallway, the lights were on, but most had been turned off and the hallway was flooded with that same mist, thicker.

The four of them moved down the hall in a tight square formation. The halls were dark and at some points the paneling was scarred with gashes, like something ripped the sheet metal apart and the dried blood on the floor at points hinted at the fate of whatever the thing that had done it was after. So, alien presence on the ship? This didn't sound like a horrible sci-fi movie.

"Alright, we part ways here, Team two," Shepard said once they came to a fork in the hall, one would take them down to the armory and the other would take them towards the front of the ship and the bridge. "Stay alert and be ready for anything." he added firmly.

"Sir," Kelly nodded and Alenko turned, they both moved down into the hall and disappeared around the corner.

Shepard and Mark moved down their own hall in a straight line. They passed several doors, each was either locked or just offline due to damage, mostly because they were wrenched and deformed. All the while the same feeling of ambush stayed in his gut like a bad sickness. He tried to ignore, there hadn't been any sign of life on this ship so far and EDI hadn't said anything.

"EDI, any signs of life? Anything at all?" The Commander asked.

"_Scanning, Shepard_…" EDI again paused, longer this time. Shepard knew she putting a fair amount of processing power into a very thorough scan, a full twenty or so seconds passed before she spoke again. "_Three life signs have been detected, organic, stationary. Cold. This rest of the ship is empty, I'm reading life pods launched_."

The crew had launched life pods in the darkness of space in an unknown system? That was disturbing. No crew would ever do that unless the ship was lost to whatever it was that was attacking them,

"You're sure it's just those three life signs?"

"_I'm always sure, Commander_." EDI's tone wasn't annoyed, but he imagined she was.

"Alright," Shepard replied. "Send me the location of the life signs, Mark and I will check them out."

"_Sent, Shepard_."

He check the direction, along with the detailed map that came with it. Silently thanking EDI he and Mark continued on their way, past the locked armory and through two other cryo chambers. They moved along and stopped at a heavy duty, sealed double door that had been welded shut and scratched at by something, blood coated its surface, dried…old.

Shepard frowned, placing a palm against the doors. "Alenko," he thought about opening a channel to the other Alliance soldier. And his suit did it.

"_Yes, Commander_?"

"I need your explosives expertise, got a real heavy styles door here that needs opening, you and Kelly reached the bridge yet?" he asked with his eyes not leaving the doors.

"_Yeah, she's accessing the logs, kinda messy up here, blood, no bodies and the air is thick with this stuff,_" There was a pause. "_Alright, she has them, we're on our way to you, Commander_." the com closed.

Shepard glanced at his motion tracker, nothing sides the yellow dot that indicated Mark. The ever silent sniper was scanning the area, clearly keeping guard. Shepard applauded his dedication and softly sighed before turning to the Spartan, "We're sitting in a dead ship, Spartan." he frowned, "I want you and Alenko to return to the hanger and secure it for exfiltration."

"Sir," Mark nodded slightly.

In roughly five minutes Shepard and Mark were joined by Kelly and Alenko. Soon Alenko was at work, specially placing small high explosive breach charges across the door, clearly he knew what he was doing. In moments he had placed fifteen small, fist sized explosive disks and stepped back.

"Stand back, people," Alenko muttered, raising the detonator. "Breaching now."

Fifteen solid thumps sounded, then there was the sound of straining metal. Finally, the hall cleared of smoke caused by the explosions. The door was heavily damaged, but still stood. "Didn't work," Shepard muttered.

"It did," Alenko countered. "Kelly, if you would?" he gestured her to the door.

"My pleasure," Kelly stepped forward, cracked her knuckles and her leg snapped up and planted a firm kick to the center of the door. It flew back in the circular shape Alenko had placed the explosives in. She stepped back, then waved them. "After you, Commander."

Shepard ducked under the top of the hole, then stepped into the chamber. Unlike the hallways they had travelled through, this room was spotless and well maintained, he scanned it and saw three cryo pods, each held a familiar sight of a seven something tall armored figure Shepard knew were Spartans.

Each was frozen and the pods glass covering was covered in a thin layer of frost, Shepard frowned at the sight. Moving over to them and checking the panels for the pods. Each life signs were green, they were alive and well.

"Jerome, Alice and Douglas," Shepard turned his head to look over to Kelly, who was now beside the pods like he was. Staring down at them, her visor slowly moving over them, "Its been so long," she mumbled, further muffled by her helmet.

Shepard hard that tone before, it was the relieved tone of a soldier who had found a long thought dead member of their team or family, the relief and happiness was something Shepard could respect. She moved over to the panel of the pod, tapped it and said. "I could wake them now, if you want, Commander?"

"No, leave that for later, for now, we've got to make a report," Shepard didn't want to bother securing the rest of the ship. He'd doubt they find anything else other then blood, mist and zero bodies. "Reach, this is Shepard. EDI, send a report to Halsey, tell her the ship's crew is MIA sides three Spartans, requesting two clean up crews and decontamination teams along with a contingent of marines…" Shepard paused. "Tell her we'll send her the ships logs once we're back on the Reach."

"_At once, Commander_," EDI replied.

"And send the shuttle to extract us," Shepard added.

"_Understood, shuttle is away now_."

Shepard turned back to the pods, then scanned the room and briefly wondered why this room had been so heavily fortified. The walls appeared to have been sealed by large, heavy sheets of metal to make the room completely impenetrable, more like a panic room then whatever it had to have been before it was refitted for it, whatever they were trying to keep out sure as hell didn't make it inside.

But, what had happened? The pods were launched and the feeling inside Shepard's gut faded slightly, but persisted in the back of his mind. Something out there was wrong. He knew it, but for now.

"Mission complete, team," He said, turning them other three. "Pack up and report back to the hanger, we have a new ship that needs cleaning."

Their lights winked green, even Alenko's light. Shepaed felt like they were purposefully teasing him.

* * *

**End of chapter 19**

**There it is, Chapter 19. Now, for those of you who expected Cutter and Anders to enter the fold, well, maybe they will. But for now, I think I've hinted at something just as, maybe more so, sinister than the reapers. No? hehehe. Anyways, please leave a review while I go lay down and just relax! **

**Till next chapter, my loveable readers and fans of the story!**


	21. Debriefing

**In Infinitum**

**Chapter 20  
Debriefing  
**

**SSV-**_**Normandy**_** SR2, FTL Space en route to Hades Gamma cluster. 0830 Hours.**  
Tom inspected his newest weapon that had been sent to him straight from his Alliance requisition Office, the M94-Rapier. A silver-dark blue colored weapon that was the most experimental sniper rifle to come off the rack for field testing, to Tom's knowledge, only fifty other units were in existence. The Rapier employed new tech that had again been taken from Halsey's personal science team that used the standard Mass Accelerator technology found in most weapons, it also used a more advanced recoil dampening system and heat venting units.

The scope it used packed Thermal, EMF and Night vision modes. EMF Vision was an experimental vision mode that allow Tom to peer through light cover.

The best feature of this weapon was that it packed the punch just short of the Widow AM rifle with six shots worth per Thermal Clip and it weighed only slightly heavier than a Mattock battle rifle.

"You in love or something?" A certain female voice broke into his admiring thoughts.

Tom sighed softly, he had honestly forgotten about his unwanted passenger who had chosen to come along and much to his chagrin never seemed to understand that when he was quiet, he wanted it to be quiet.

"Just admiring the weapon." He replied finally.

"I see that," Samantha replied while crossing her arms and gave him a weird look, "Any reason we're stowed on the most famous Alliance ship in the galaxy?"

Tom chuckled. He knew the Normandy was famous since it was the vessel of Commander Shepard, first human Spectre and Savior of the Citadel, destroyer of the Collectors and most recently Foreteller of the Reapers, though Tom suspected the last title wasn't yet galaxy wide because it just sounded silly.

"I'm a spectre and former N7 operative," he shrugged. "I have my connections."

Samantha didn't pursue the matter and instead switched to a whole new one. "Why are you so interested in Cerberus?" she asked, stretching her arms out and yawning softly.

They were both seated in the corner of the Cargo bay of the Reach among the many supply crates, they had been moved around a bit by Tom so it covered them. As much as he valued the code word privacy his contact had given him but he still didn't enjoy being seen on an Operation that required stealth, if Cerberus had contacts on the Normandy, he wouldn't be seen and tip off Cerberus even more by knowing he was on the way.

But, her question caught him off guard for the briefest of moments. Taking a breath he replied, "They have a friend of mine, I plan to find her." he didn't give any classified information away and he didn't lie.

Samantha's eyes flashed with an emotion that Tom knew was pity, something he hated. Spartans hated Pity. "I'm sorry, have you heard about her? How long have they had her?" she asked now, moving over ever slightly closer to him.

"Ten months now and I have heard nothing," Tom replied. Tone bitter and livid.

Her expression matched her eyes now. "That… isn't good, are you sure she's still…" she didn't want to say dead, so she awkwardly finished. "Y'know?"

"Yeah, she's alive," Tom replied firmly. "She and I have been through a lot since we were children, we've been through it all and she wouldn't die by some Cerberus spooks," he realized he sounded angry, almost snappy. He took a breath, Lucy's capture still affected him.

"She your wife? Or sister?" Samantha asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Tom chuckled again. Spartans didn't marry, they fought. "She's family." he replied honestly.

She looked like she wanted to ask more questions, but the Captain's voice played through the ship's intercom. "Exiting FTL in the Hades Gamma. All hands go to standby."

Tom's Omni-Tool blinked, he lifted it and read the message sent. The Captain was coming down to see him off, he sighed and looked to Samantha. "Suit up, we'll be having company soon from the Captain," he looked at her, she blushed.

"Uh, privacy?" she asked, gesturing him away.

Tom blinked, then said. "Just get dressed, I need to armor up too. We can't let them see our faces," he growled, turning to a case and pushing it over to her. She huffed, glanced around and when she saw no cameras she slowly stripped off her clothing down to her underwear. She opened the case, blinking.

"What is this?"

Tom laid his shirt down onto a crate and shaking off his pants. "Semi-Powered Infiltration armor, Mark-II series," he replied without turning to her. "I know I said they never panned out, but there are still models in existence."

"Why couldn't I wear something like you?" Samantha asked, lifting the chest plate of the surprisingly heavy armor. She scrutinized it.

"It requires a neural implant and extremely high reaction time to use, if you don't have the first, the armor is more hindering when helpful and if you don't have the second, you could very well die." He replied lightly.

Tom slid one leg, then the other into the blacksuit of the SPI-Mark III armor. He cracked his neck, then attached the chest plate, the fusion reactors of the back piece connected to the blacksuit. It warmed, cooled then melded to his form and matched his body temperature. He felt naked, comfortable. He grabbed his gauntlets, slid them on and moved onto his boots.

"…Yikes," Samantha mumbled, she glanced over her shoulder at the Spectre. She saw his back, her eyes travelled over his form. Appraising it with her eyes, "Nice ass," she mumbled.

"What?" Tom glanced over his shoulder at her.

"Nothing, just mumbling under my breath," Samantha said quickly, grinning and then holding up her chest piece. "Uh, help me here? I'm not used to putting on bulky military armor." she grinned sheepishly.

Tom rolled his eyes, turning to her and setting his Helmet down. They didn't have time for this, he walked over to her and saw she had at least put on the under suit of crystalline weave. He instructed her to turn, she did and he zipped the suit up. "You put the boots on, I'll get your gauntlets."

She nodded, sitting on a crate as she placed the boots onto her feet. Tom strapped the gauntlets to her arms, then her biceps. He tightened the straps to fit her snugly and soon, she too was adorned in armor. Sides their helmets.

"Feels weird," Samantha muttered, flexing her fingers and then clenched them into fists.

"Get used to it, we're in these suits for a week," Tom replied as he held out her helmet. She took it, slid the helmet onto her head and said, "Wow! This looks new, like… some first person shooter game!" she genuinely sounded excited. "Reticle, power meter, ammunition counter and radar." He could hear the grin in her voice, "The whole package."

Tom blinked. "First Person Shooter game?"

"Yeah, I play a lot of Ring games, beaten one through three. And reserved the newest, Ring: Falling," She gushed. "It tells the story of the first planet to fall in the war with the Xenians and humanity! See, the Xenians want to wipe out humanity because of their religious views and-"

Tom held up a hand. "I think I heard the story before," he said flatly.

"Oh," Samantha shrugged.

Tom placed his helmet onto his head and looked to her, "We'll be dropped here in a shuttle with provisions to last us the week, then this time next week Normandy will come back and pick us up, understood?"

"So, we're camping then?" Samantha asked. "Just, y'know… with heavy armor and guns."

"Pretty much," Tom shrugged and turned to see the Captain enter their corner. "Captain, ma'am," he saluted. Old habits die hard it seemed.

Samantha awkwardly returned the gesture.

"Your shuttle is ready, as are your provisions, Spectre," Captain Aliana Ortega was a highly decorated space pilot throughout the Alliance. Her record was spotless, efficient and twice as long as Tom's own with the UNSC. Served twenty-seven long years in the Alliance and had been given authority over the most advanced stealth ship in the Alliance. The SR2.

"Thank you, Captain." Tom saluted, "I appreciate it."

"No problem Spectre, just take whoever you're after down." she replied, offering her hand.

He shook it and made for the shuttle. Samantha in tow.

Once inside the shuttle, Tom stepped into the pilot's seat. Samantha took the co-pilot seat next to him and removed her helmet when he deemed it was safe to do so. "You don't trust the Alliance?" she asked, noting the secrecy.

"I don't trust Cerberus, it has many agents in different places, never know if one is on this ship," Tom replied as he started the shuttle up. "Buckle up, I'm just a greenhorn when it comes to piloting." he stated.

She did just that and added, "Oh…" it was lame, she knew that. But she had nothing else to say to a possible crash landing… well.. "Don't crash, okay?"

"No promises." Tom muttered in amusement.

* * *

**Arcturus Station, Arcturus Stream. 1300 Hours. 3 Days later.**  
Commander Shepard and Lieutenant Commander Frederic stood inside the main briefing room with Admiral Hackett and Terrence and to their right was Captain Gerald Macavre. The three most powerful men in the Alliance if Shepard remembered correctly. Each was a highly decorated soldier, but only Shepard knew Hackett on a personal level. The other two he only knew through rumors and hear-say.

He glanced at the corner of his eyes to Fred. The Spartan was out of his MJOLNIR armor and stood straight as a true professional, eyes forward and locked on the desk in front of them. Shepard returned his gaze forward too.

This was something new, it had been three days since they recovered the Spirit of Fire on their mission and the ship was being retrofitted for Alliance Purposes as its newest Dreadnought. Halsey had been going over the mission logs with her science team, something about her expression after he gave his brief report worried him.

"Lieutenant Commander Frederic, Commander Shepard," began Admiral Terrence with his old, gruff voice. Unlike Hackett, Terrence looked old enough to be retired, but something told him it was just an appearance of work stress. "We've never met, so I'll introduce myself, I'm Admiral Hector Terrence, head of Alliance Special Operations Division."

Shepard blinked. This man was the very same who was responsible for all N7 deployments, even the newly deemed Spartan division, he was Fred and Shepard's direct superior. While they took orders from Hackett, Terrence's orders outweighed the formers. A big fish at the table.

"This is newly promoted Captain Gerald Macavre," Terrence gestured to the Captain beside him. "He's our new Dreadnought Captain, he'll be taking command of the Spirit."

"Sirs." Shepard replied, nodding and saluting. Fred followed suit.

"Halsey and Mendez will be along shortly, for now, we have reports from our scientists concerning hostile forces," Terrence started and tapped a key on his console. The room lights dulled, then were replaced by a holographic image of the Reaper fleet that had come through the Alpha Relay. "This small Reaper fleet that was destroyed at the Alpha Relay was just the first. Now, our scientists have taken the data from star charts and gave a calculation as to which Relay will be there next attempt at coming through."

He tapped another key.

"Here," the map showed a single relay deep inside Batarian space, it was right near the Batarian homeworld in fact, Khar'shan, home to billions of Batarians and the home of the Batarian hegemony leaders. "Now, unlike the last Relay, the Batarians home system is much more reinforced, we can't get a stealth ship inside without being spotted. And after the loss of the three-hundred million lives after the Alpha Detonation… they're at full alert."

Shepard frowned. That meant they couldn't get a NOVA to the Relay to do the same thing, nor plant a fleet to greet the Reapers when they arrived.

"Our scientists also predict four to five months travel time without FTL flight to this relay, so, we have a few months to try and prepare for what could be the most vicious enemy this galaxy will ever face." The Admiral paused, "We've sent this information to the Batarian Hegemony… they discarded it and called us terrorists… we'll not be negotiating a fleet into their system either."

Shepard sighed, loudly and clearly to show his utter frustration at the news. He was ignored since the Admiral spoke again.

"Thankfully, The Asari, Turian and Salarian governments took this information more seriously, we're told all their shipyards are at maximum production mode, our governments are pooling their resources into production and resources." A small, lopsided smile spread over the Admiral's face. "We've spent quite a lot of credits into producing more frigates and cruisers. But, we've also funnelled some funds over to Halsey and Mendez for our newest pet project and a dozen other side projects. All will prove vital during the coming war."

Shepard blinked. They weren't putting everything into ships? Like the other three governments. What could they be funnelling all those credits into then? It made Shepard's mind swim with possibilities. Before he could fully sink into them Hackett's voice broke the silence.

"Doctor Halsey, Chief Mendez," The man greeted, gesturing them to some chairs that were free at his side. "Welcome, glad you made it."

Halsey and Mendez stood side by side. Each wore their own uniform depending on their branches. They took their seats, nodded to the others and Halsey gave Fred a smile, "Frederic, good to see you out of the MJOLNIR suit."

"Ma'am," Fred saluted to Halsey briskly. "Pleasure, as always." he turned to Mendez, "Chief." his voice held that tone of respect that all the Spartans shared for him.

Mendez returned the salute. Halsey smiled wider before asking, "What is our topic?"

"Your series Four program, Halsey," Hackett replied with a gracious gesture of his arm. "So, you have the deck."

Halsey nodded, straightened her dress and stood. "Commanders," she began and tapped her Omni-tool. The Hologram showed large text before them all, "SPARTAN-IV" was clear.

It gave Shepard a small sense of awe, each time the Spartans proved they were top soldiers in every way. Each had their quirks, but were all still as good as Shepard himself.

"Series four of the Spartan program is going to begin in the next few days and I'm here to offer you both a place inside it," Halsey looked to both Fred and Shepard, "Commander, I'm offering you a chance top become a Spartan. Trained like a Spartan and armed like a Spartan, this program is made up of volunteers. So far," Halsey tapped a key and a list of names came up. "We have two hundred and fifty-two candidates, all pass general scanning for genetic markers to match the augmentation process." she explained. "I did the honor of running your genetics, Commander. You're a perfect match."

She paused, then smiled. "Just like he was…"

Shepard raised a brow. "He?"

"A hero, Shepard," Halsey replied, waving a hand. "It's your choice, we have four months to make you a Spartan, Shepard." She turned her gaze to Fred, "Frederic, you and Mendez are going to take over as drill instructors for the project. Do you accept this duty?" she asked.

"Ma'am!" Fred snapped off a salute. "Always."

She smiled and turned back to Shepard, raising an expectant brow. "Well, Commander?"

Shepard was at a small loss for words. This was a big offer, how does one become a Spartan? He had been heavily augmented when he became a soldier and then again when he was revived by Cerberus after the first Normandy was destroyed. What more could they do for him? He glanced to Fred… could he be like the man beside him? So focused and skilled he could clear a room alone and move to the next before the final body hit the ground? Or so fast that he could catch Kelly? The ideas swam in Shepard's mind that it momentarily made him forget where he was.

Shepard snapped out of it and replied with a little too quickly than he would have liked. "I'm in."

Halsey nodded, smiled and tapped a key. Shepard's name appeared on the list… in the spot of number one hundred and seventeen.

"John one one seven…" He heard Fred whisper beside him. He could hear the tone he spoke the name with, there was respect, admiration and tell tale tone of a good friend who missed his best friend.

"Very good, both of you." Halsey sat back down, then looked to Mendez, "You can take it from here, Chief."

"Aye, ma'am," Mendez turned to them. "The cruiser that will take us to the Program headquarters is leaving in half an hour. I expect you both to be on it in twenty. And welcome to the Spartan Four program."

Shepard and Fred saluted again. "Dismissed," Mendez finished. The pair turned and marched out, leaving the most powerful Alliance figures alone to themselves.

"Why one, one seven?" Mendez asked when Fred and Shepard were gone. He turned to Halsey.

"Because, Chief," Halsey's smile was gone and he gave him a sharp look. "He's as close to John as he can be, he's a superb leader, he's a soldier and he does what he can to win." she looked to the door they had left from, "And we'll be calling that man a hero before this is all over."

Mendez "hmm"ed softly and sat back.

Hackett broke into their conversation. "How long till the project take?" he asked.

"First month for their augmentations, then three months of training for them to get used to them. Then when the Reapers show up," she tapped a key and the image they had first showed Fred and Shepard appeared again. "We'll be as ready as we can be."

"And our side projects?"

"Calculated, I've run it by Shade and he agrees that the funding we're receiving will cover the charges," she turned to Hackett. "I assure you."

"Good," Hackett didn't trust Shade. Then again, Shade was the first AI developed by the Alliance and such a thing if discovered by the council would impede their efforts. Then again, Shade was a very secretive "person" since he only spoke with Halsey, Mendez and Terrence. That made it all the more shady to Hackett. "Keep me posted."

"I will," Halsey replied with a nod. She placed her datapad down and it read simply…

MJOLNIR VII.

* * *

**End of Chapter 20 and Part 2**

**There it is, the second half of the story is complete. Now comes the third, and hopefully final, part of it. Yes, that means the war is coming, another timeskip is ahead for you all. Thank you all for reading this far and I hope to continue to deliver a good story you all can enjoy till the end. Please leave a review and have a good day/night!**


	22. Advancements

**In Infinitum**

**Part III  
Chapter 21  
Advancements**

**Planet Vasili, Ghost system within Aurora Cluster. SPARTAN IV training and augmentation facility AKA HARVEST base. 2100 Hours. 3 months later.**  
Doctor Catherine Halsey typed furiously on her console with purpose. Her face was wrinkled with concentration with a bit of annoyance as she watched the data scroll across her monitor. She bit her lip, leaned back with a mutter, "Damn, it's bad enough the data is heavily encrypted…"

A shadow covered man appeared next to her. Holographic and only the size of Halsey's hand, just a shadow in a man's form. No eyes or mouth, this was Shade. "I would offer my help, doctor, but I'm currently sorting through several encrypted messages, running seven training simulations and watching over the MJOLNIR VII caskets."

Halsey blinked and turned to Shade, staring at his form. "You're doing all that?" she asked. She knew Shade loved to multitask itself, but he had never run all that at once before.

"Yes, it's a bit of a strain, but, I'm managing," Shade's tone was smug, "Sadly, that leaves you on your own. But, if your interested, you're about to receive an encrypted message from Arcturus, enjoy." as soon as he faded the message appeared on Halsey's monitor.

Halsey's brow furrowed as she scanned it, then sighed and pressed the open key.

**/Message Content/  
To: Catherine Halsey.  
From: Admiral Hackett.  
Subject: Scanning results.  
/File start/**

_Doctor, as per your request upon your reading of the Spirit's missions logs and fears of possible Flood activity. We've scanned every planet in the system and checked neighbouring planets for anything. Our results have come back negative, there are still five pods unaccounted for from the Spirit, but those that were found were clean sides a few bodies. The logs also said the Spirit had been adrift for two hundred years? How is that possible. Your timeline puts its disappearance at twenty years before._

_Also, to add to this message. The Spirit is now fully operational. It's decks had been cleaned, scanned again and scrubbed once more for added caution, no signs of Flood activity. Are you positive this wasn't just mutiny? Or something else? But that's it for now. I'm sorry if your disappointed, Halsey._

_PS. We look forward to your report on SPARTAN IV._**  
/END FILE/  
/END MESSAGE/**

Halsey sighed and leaned back. Her report on SPARTAN IV would be shining at least, all candidates had passed and survived the augmentation process with no side effects side a few headaches that came with the increasing of their nervous systems and reaction times along with their eye enhancements. But, after a month of light lifting and getting used to their "new" bodies the candidates had become something more than she dared hope.

Also, every Spartan-III had entered for their own augmentations as well. Each was now as powerful and fast as their S-II counterparts, though slightly taller they still didn't reach the norm of seven foot tall that S-IIs were, they did top out at six feet.

Well, all but two Spartan-IIIs had joined the SPARTAN IV program. Tom and Lucy, The first was still hunting for the second last she heard and the second was still in the clutches of Cerberus. Despite their best efforts, they could never catch whiff of the shady organization, somehow, Tom had come close several times.

Halsey blinked, then shook his head. She knew why Tom came so close, hunted so hard and why he was willing to leave the Alliance, become a Spectre and cut almost every tie to them. Halsey knew it, Tom was in love with Lucy. She doubted he'd ever realize it but he was and Halsey pitied him for it.

Rules, regulations and combat. Spartan's comprehend these like a normal human understood that they moved their body, but anything beyond those was "open" ground for the Spartans and in Tom's case she knew that the Spartan would never come to terms with his feelings.

Swiping those thoughts aside she refocused on her work. "Shade, what is One. One seven's current schedule?" she asked as she typed.

"Doctor," Shade appeared again. "One, one seven is currently in a training exercise in wilderness area B-seven, he's facing Blue team." He paused, then with a smirk in his words he finished. "It should be interesting to observe."

"Stream live feed to my monitor, Shade."

"At once, Doctor," Shade waved his arm. The screen on her monitor switched to a wide view camera that showed some shrub, a few trees and grassy grounds. It rotated slowly until it caught several armored figures, four of them. This was Green team and it was the one Shepard commanded.

Green team was headed by another top-class soldier. Zachery Alenko, he had been offered a spot inside the Spartan-IV program and he accepted near instantly, apparently time with Mark and Kelly was enough to show him how being a Spartan was very good for ones combat skills. Alenko had quickly become Shepard's "rival" in the program and they were always at odds during exercises.

* * *

**Arcturus Station, Arcturus Stream. 2100 Hours**.  
"The hell do you mean it went quiet?" Major Antonio Salvador growled to Lieutenant Haverson at the sensor probe station. "How do seven stealth transmission probes just "go quiet"?" he asked with further acid.

"Sir!" The Lieutenant sputtered, "I don't know, they just stopped sending signals and I'm getting weird readings!"

"Weird readings?" Salvador raised a brow. "Weird… how?"

"Well, Batarian com traffic in that area is… well, gone. The whole system went dark an hour ago, now its just white noise," Haverson turned to his console. "No transmissions have since been intercepted… or even detected. Probes went silent five minutes ago," he reported. "I honestly have no idea what to think."

The Major went silent and considered the possibilities, they still had a month before the Reapers supposedly arrived, then again,. The eggheads could be wrong with their math. "Open a channel to Admiral Hackett, tell him to get to a shuttle and set off for Earth." He ordered.

"Sir? Why?" Haverson turned to away from his console.

"Because it Ensign Dominic would look more accurately at his console," Salvador growled to his crew as he turned to said Ensign and gestured sharply at the screen. "The signal was backtracked to us!"

The crew blinked. Then paled and turned to their screens when alarms blared over the entire station. "FTL signatures! They match Reapers!" Haverson cried.

"Estimation on the arrival?" Salvador replied.

"Now, sir…" Haverson whispered and hung his head.

"Viewscreens! And where is Hackett?" Salvador shouted, moving to his command chair and leaning back into it. The screen switched and a fleet of insectoid machines exited FTL drive through the Relay, he narrowed his eyes and did a quick count of their numbers. Fifty-nine of them all barrelling for Arcturus.

"All hands to combat stations, arm Station defenses and tell the fifth, sixth and seventh fleets to engage them! Have the forth fleet escort Admiral Hackett out of here!" Salvador stood and stared hard the Reaper images. "Come and get us."

The crew snapped to their duties, sweat began to gather on their foreheads.

"Shouldn't we be evacuating?" One of his crew asked.

"Not until Hackett is away, his life takes priority," The Major replied before turning back to the images. _Besides, this is personal._ He thought, clenching his hands tightly into fists. "Give me a tactical map, Ensign." He said, voice level. He wasn't panicked, he wasn't afraid. He was pissed and it was all focused on killing the Reapers.

"Aye, sir."

The screen was replaced with a holographic map of the area. He was as the blue outlined Alliance ships of the three fleets advance on the Reaper fleet, One hundred and thirty-five against fifty-nine? The Major seriously hoped those were good odds. But he had been there on the bridge of a ship when they had fought Sovereign, that Reaper had inflicted heavy losses on the Alliance fleets alone…could they do this?

_No! No doubts, not for Angelica._ He didn't turn to his crew when he said, "All ships are to focus fire on the smaller ones first," He gestured to some of the smaller Reapers of the fleet which appeared to be speeding up to meet the Alliance ships head on, the larger ones lagged behind. Their back's spread and revealed massive red eyes… energy gathered at those eyes.

"Weapons heating up," Haverson muttered. "Sir, they're targeting us… the larger Reapers are target Arcturus!"

Major Salvador growled. "Have the SSV-_Gettysburg_, _Manila_, _Alias_ and _Capetown _take the blows!" he barked. "And dump power from our lesser systems to charge the MAC gun. Lets put those tax dollars to work!"

The Station had been outfitted hastily over the last few months with a MAC cannon that fired 2000 ton of metal at speeds that, if they were using Eazo based tech, would have turned Arcturus into a slab of melted metal. Now however, it would prove their greatest tool.

"Sir?" Lieutenant Haverson turned on his chair. "Take the hits?"

"Did I stutter? Yes! Order them into the coordinates of those beams paths!" Salvador watched as the beams sheared forward like a rapier strike. One cut across the station's out stretching "arms". Heat bloomed, then the arm was severed before it exploded in shards of heavy metal and white hot shards of steel.

"Sir!" The Lieutenant quickly moved to follow the order.

Salvador watched the tactical map. The other four Reapers fired their weapons, two fleet ships, ones he had not designated, moved into their paths. The beams sheared through their kinetic barriers and them ships themselves. Two frigates detonated in the dead of space, but they had stopped the attacks.

"Cannon is at full charge!" Ensign Michigan called.

"Sir, Sixth fleet is reporting heavy losses…" Haverson said from his station. "Hackett is aboard the Lights Out and moving with the forth fleet out system where they'll circle around to the Relay."

"Good," Now Hackett was out to safety, he had to keep the Reaper's attention. The Tact map flickered when the station bucked from another slash of the Reaper's main gun. "Firing solution, I want this one…" he tapped a Reaper on the map. "Target, fire in three seconds."

"Sir!"

Motes of fire exploded across the space in front of Arcturus Station. A line of ships had been slashed by multiple pulse lasers from the smaller Reapers who were now going in for "close" range combat. The larger destroyers however sped up, they were coming right for Arcturus. Seems they understood the station was the command and control center of this battle.

"Sir! The sixth fleet is down to twenty percent fighting power! Fifth fleet is moving to reinforce!" Haverson called.

"Alright," Major Salvador knew this was bad. Their fleet was being sliced and diced out there, the Reapers were just too strong. Even outnumbered two to one a single Reaper was worth five of their ships. "Fire the cannon, now Lieutenant!"

A solid thump sounded out through the hull of Arcturus as the Magnetic Accelerator Cannon fired its 2000 ton payload. The round streaked across the darkness of space in a light of blueish yellow, Salvador watched as it impacted the target Reaper which such force the Kinetic barriers didn't fail so much as shatter, the round tore the Reaper apart with such kinetic force it split into two.

The round, much to the awe of the crew, continued forward where it sheared through another Reaper, not enough to bisect it like the first, but it was definitely not going anywhere fast. The round then stopped after it slammed into a third target, making its barriers fail and leaving a huge "crater" in its hull. The round was now a massive slab of crushed metal that was stuck it and made the Reaper spin backwards from the force of the impact.

"Holy shit…" Haverson whispered. Then cheered along with the rest of the crew. They had just killed two Reapers and severely damaged one. Their cheers grew louder when both the pierced Reapers exploded.

"Settle down! We still have a fleet of those things left!" Salvador growled and went back to the map. He felt accomplished, but not much so. He watched as the Reapers began to distance themselves from each other. "They're spreading out…" he whispered.

Of course they were, any fleet worth its salt wouldn't allow for another hit like that to happen. "Time till next shot?" he asked.

"Two minutes, sir!" The crew was more lively now. Revelling in their small victory, "Sir! Reaper fleet is spreading out and half of the smaller ones just broke off from the battle and are flying past the fleets right for us!" He frowned. "Damn… that didn't last long."

"They're machines." Salvador muttered. "They don't feel fear." He pressed a button and opened a com to the hangers bays, "All fighters, launch! Buy us as much time as you can to get another round off from the cannon!"

He watched as several hundred fighters broke off the various launch bays and moved to meet the Reapers who were closest. "Call some ships back from the Seventh Fleet to intercept those Reapers while they're busy with our fighters, power up the Thanix turrets and dedicate a quarter of our power output to recharge the cannon." He turned to the Lieutenant, "Double time!"

If those Reapers got too close the MAC gun would be useless. They couldn't win this fight, but goddamnit he would give the Alliance the knowledge that these sons of bitches could die just as easily as anything else if you used the right tools.

"Mac gun at full charge!" Haverson said, "Awaiting target."

A flash cut across the bridge view screen, the hull shuddered and someone yelled, "Reactor one is hit! Its going critical! Losing power to decks four through eight, hull breaches detected… trying to cool it down!"

Salvador gripped the edges of his chair and looked at where the shot had come from. It had come from extreme distance… he moved the map with a flick of his hand and saw it was from the back of the Reaper fleet, a massive Reaper that dwarfed the others beside it, its eyes glowed a demonic yellow and it's back opened to reveal that same red "eye" of the main gun. It charged again… and a red beam slashed across Arcturus, two frigates and vaporized any unlucky fighters who were between it and Arcturus. The Station shuddered again at the impact, more alarms blared and reports of further breaches in their hull.

"Haverson! Target that furthest target before it snipes this station into oblivion!" The Major ordered as he tapped a few keys on his control. That Reaper was obviously a big player in their command structure, it was massive. Had to be a capital ship of their fleet, Hell. Maybe it the leader of the whole damn reaper race!

"Solution in, firing cannon!"

Another thump sounded through Arcturus, this one was also accompanied by the sound of twisting metal, the hull of the Station was in bad shape. Haverson and the entire bridge crew watched on their view screens as the round moved towards the large robotic insect. Then their expression fell when five Reapers moved on an intercept course to block the round, three bunched up against each other, belly to back and the other two listed behind their shield formation as backup to stop the round.

It impacted, this time it bisected both Reapers up front and then sent the last backwards into the other two, who quickly used their combine weight to stop it from rolling into the larger unit. Salvador frowned, had they learned that tactic when the Alliance used it? Or did they always know, just never had to use it? He didn't dwell too long.

"Recharge cannon!"

"Can't sir, reactors are too hot, if we pull them for power to recharge the guns they will go critical and the entire station will be destroyed." Haverson replied, sweat ran down his face. The normally cool temperature of the room was now hot, loss of environmental controls likely occurred without their knowledge.

"Fine then," The Major sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Powerdown Thanix turrets, shut down all power other then to life support, cannon and the bridge here," he replied. "Then prepare for EVA, get to the hanger bay and launch out the shuttles, get to a frigate and board the Commonswealth. You're abandoning the Station."

"Sir, what about you?" Haverson muttered while the rest of the crew stood to follow their orders… and of course to not die.

"I'm staying behind, transfer firing and power controls to my chair," Salvador cracked his neck and steepled his hands together. "Now get going, Lieutenant."

"Aye, sir…" Haverson signed, he knew he couldn't force the Major to leave with them, he knew that look of burning hatred in his eyes. It was the sight of a man out for revenge.

He left the bridge and Salvador was alone. "Alright, you son of a bitch, I'm bringing you down." He muttered, glaring at the image of the large yellow eyed Reaper. His console beeped, he rerouted the power keeping the stations point defense turret and thanix guns warm. The MAC gun read fully charged and loaded.

He watched as the large unit charged its laser, it was targeting the station. Good, Salvador smirked. Then… he fired as the Reaper did.

The MAC round and laser passed each other in the blink of an eye. They sped towards their targets, Salvador closed his eyes as the beam struck Arcturus, slicing across it and leaving the bridge he sat in nothing more then a melted piece of hull. The MAC round slammed into the larger Reaper, its barriers flared, shattered and it bumped backwards with a crater in its upper right back where the round had impacted. It steadied itself, then watched as fiery explosions moved through the station, then the station blinked out of existence in a massive ball of flame and heated metal.

"_I am Harbinger_," The Reaper growled over every human ship com as the station exploded. "_And I am your salvation, through destruction_!"

He turned, listed away from the battle alone and moved back towards the Relay… catching a glimpse of a small Alliance fleet slipping through it. If Harbinger had eyes, they would have narrowed.

The Alliance fleets broke formation, turned and made best speed out of the system so they could circle around and make it to the relay. No more then forty-seven ships remained operational, most with extensive damage. They had inflicted twelve casualties to the Reaper fleet. A crushing defeat in the opening battle against the Reapers.

* * *

**Vasili. Wilderness training zone B7. 0320 Hours.**  
Shepard ducked low in the brush, his SPI-Mark III armor blended perfectly with the brush he and his team lay prone in. Their Banshee Assault rifles had been programmed into "training" mode, the rounds no longer impacted with lethal force once the target's shields went down. So there was no chance of accidental deaths during exercises.

That didn't mean the rounds stopped firing though, when the shields went down the weapons still fired with painful force. Often enough to knock a man down with repeated fire, sniper rifles outright knocked you onto your ass if your unshielded form gets hit the armor.

He looked to his HUD and watched his three teammates bio signs. Each was green, their pulses were higher. They were excited and he understood why, this was another match against Blue team, Alenko was always a challenge for their team since the program had begun, Alenko had beaten Shepard in Hand-to-hand combat the first day after augmentation rest. Then Shepard defeated Alenko in a team exercise the next day.

It had increased from there. They were always trading wins with the other.

"What's our plan today, Shep?" A voice from his lower right. It was Valerie-147, to her left were Connor-005 and James-214. Each was adorned in SPI Mark-III armor that currently had the Av-Cam active, only reason Shepard knew they were there was because his motion sensor alerted him to their presence.

"Not sure, Alenko hasn't prodded our turf yet," Shepard replied through the com, scanning the ground ahead of their position. No trees ruffled unnaturally, grass didn't crunch and there was birds singing. Nothing was there it seemed. "Alright, Val. Move up and assess the area ahead, there's a rock grotto a few dozen meters ahead, good place for an ambush. Connor, you and James circle around to the left at a distance to cover her." Shepard paused, "I'll go right on overwatch."

Three light blinked green on his HUD. Shepard smiled.

Green team dispersed to get a move on their orders. Soon, they left Shepard's motion sensor range and finally disappeared like ghosts into the forest, standing Shepard moved to fulfill his own side of the plan. He knew he could count on Valerie and the others, for three months they had done this together. They had been put together at Augmentation as Green Team and Mendez had beaten into them that they had to be more family then fire team.

They had trained together. Bunked together, showered, eaten and lived together for three whole months. What normally took years they had done in three months, he knew their habits and how they would react in most situations. Connor was their sniper and James was their hand-to-hand expert. Shepard was their leader, that meant he had skills in all their fields, but unlike them. He specialized in nothing. He was the one who decided their moves and fate in combat.

He watched as a brief flicker of light. He knew it was Valerie from its cautious movement speed. She edged close to the cave, which was essentially an underground spring, it was a small, deep lake in a cave. The only ways in were through the ceiling where Valerie was and the main entrance half a kilck away.

Valerie's light winked green. The grotto was clear. She gripped the edges, disengaged her Av-Cam and jumped into the grotto, her feet landed with a thud and she raised her Banshee to scan it further. No flickers of Active Camoflage.

Before she could give her team another green light there was a soft clang in the darkness of the entrance tunnel. She turned, raised her Banshee and watched as a small, metallic object streak towards her. A grenade.

She raised her hand with the speed of a lightning bolt and slammed her forearm against it, sending it to the far side of the rockwall, it exploded in a hail of shrapnel that shook her insides. Before she could retract her arm she was pelted with weapons fire, three Banshees combined their fire on her. Her shields held a second then died and she felt the pain of repeated "flat" rounds impacted her chest, arms and legs and she flew back.

She curled and tried to drown out the pain as the rounds stopped, she forced her eyes open and saw Blue Team appear, their active Camoflage replaced by their energy shielding. At head of three was Blue team's leader, Alenko. His Banshee stayed on her a moment, flashed once and she curled again when it impacted her solar plexus with enough force to empty her lungs of air.

"Shepard and the others won't be far off," He said to his team and gestured them into the pool. They jumped inside the cold waters and dove under, their SPI armor was airtight and allowed forty minutes of breathing before they needed fresh air.

Green team had heard the gunfire and rushed to their teammate's aid, by the time they peered down into the grotto Blue Team was nowhere to be seen, just their curled up teammate and the sloshing pool of water.

Shepard frowned, Blue Team wasn't so sloppy as to jump into the water so much that it made the water slosh… that was Alenko's style, think the Commander wouldn't suspect something obvious. But, Shepard wasn't feeling like being tricked, he flashed the red light and the three members of Green team opened fire on the pool.

Splashes of water peppered the pool's surface, a shield flashed and it was enough for Shepard to know they had done what he said. "Get a grenade in there before they go deeper!" he barked to James.

James primed a frag, then tossed it hard into the pool. It sunk four meters, then exploded. Spikes of water soaked his armor and they ceased fire.

A voice broke into their com. "_All teams, return to the briefing room, there's trouble. Double time_!" Mendez's voice was stern, grim and edged.

Shepard frowned, then turned to Connor. "Collect Valerie, James. Lets double time it back there before he…" Shepard pointed a thumb over his shoulder at Blue Team's sniper, York-271, sprinted through the thick forest with purpose. This had become a race to the extraction zone now, he knew the other teams would be racing too. They had all adopted the Spartan mentality of "Winning is everything" as childish as it was, it was also… fun.

James and Shepard nodded, then turned and sprinted after York. Slinging their weapons onto the backs and doubling their pace. They both topped fifty-seven KPH, slowing down to turn and sometimes speeding for a straight away. Shepard never felt so fast, so light and so powerful in his life. He loved it.

"He's too fast!" James growled through the com, strain in his voice. He was pushing himself.

"He just planned which path had the least resistance, we slow every time we have to jump a root!" Shepard replied, then leaned forward. Overtaking James and soon, he could see York's back. With renewed purpose Shepard pumped his legs harder. He checked his speedometer. He was just short of sixty-one KPH and his legs burned.

The extraction field was in sight. York turned his head and Shepard knew he must have seen the blip on motion sensor, if You hadn't been wearing the visor on full polarization Shepard would have seen the smirk on the other Spartan-IVs face.

York pushed his own body as well. Shepard still caught up, they matched their speeds and York pinged Shepard. "Looking a little tired, there, Commander." he took a breath, "Maybe you should take a seat?"

"I will when I beat you," Shepard replied and took his own rapid series of breaths.

Before York could reply a shuttle swooped down onto the extraction field. The door opened and revealed Commander Frederic, the Spartan-II stood with his arms crossed and watched as the two "fresh" Spartans slowed from their impressive run and stopped short of the shuttle. They saluted.

"At ease, where are the rest of your teams?" Fred asked, stepping aside and gesturing them on board.

"On the way." Shepard replied, glancing over his shoulder in time see James clear the forest. Not fifteen seconds sooner did Valerie, Connor and the rest of Blue team appear. Each was in a steady sprint, except Connor who was jogging since he was still carrying a stunned Valerie. "See?"

"Indeed, pile in Spartans! We've got new orders from Alliance Brass!" Fred shouted.

They followed the order. The door slid closed and the shuttle took off towards the main complex, A short ten minute flight of silence before they set down and were all quickly marched out towards the amphitheatre where they normally were briefed/debriefed between training exercises.

At the head of the large room was Halsey and Mendez, Fred joined them shortly after he walked inside. Shepard didn't like the look on the first two's faces, Halsey's was oddly pained and Mendez's stony expression seemed more grim than usual.

Halsey spoke into a microphone, her voice echoed through speakers placed around the room. "Spartans, there is no easy way to say this. But it must be said, Roughly seven hours ago all contact was lost with Arcturus station. Before an investigation could be launched, remnants of the fifth, sixth and seventh fleets reported back to Earth with reports that the Reapers had arrived at Arcturus in force. The station was valiantly defended, but ultimately fell."

Those words hit Shepard like a round to the chest. Arcturus had fallen? So quickly? They should have had more time before the Reapers arrived. Someone dropped the ball here, he forced his anger down and listened when Halsey continued.

"With that information, every Fleet in council space is massing at their individual borders to prepare for any possible invasion force," She explained and tapped a key on the podium. A holographic list of names appeared with three rows. Each was marked overhead as "Theta" "Delta" and "Omega"

"This program lists at three hundred candidates, all of you have survived augmentation, passed general training and have evolved into top killers with further enhanced skills thanks to Mendez, you are each a Spartan." she looked them over. Some were old and grizzled, some were young and serious. But they were all still Spartans.

"Now, with the arrival of the Reapers, we're moving the series four program into its final phase, MJOLNIR, the Alliance only spent a small amount of credits into producing more ships, we've instead funnelled most of it into this program's greatest tools." she gave a nod to Mendez, who took the stand.

"Spartans. Your going to be sorted into three Companies of one hundred per troop, you'll be shipped off into the battlefield soon." he looked them over, "I've had the honor of training every generation of Spartans to be created, I'm proud of each and every one of them. And of you all."

He saluted once, then finished. "Now, report to your company Barracks, you'll be receiving your armor when your team names are called, dismissed!"

The Spartans all stood, some were slower. Arcturus had hit them hard alright. Shepard understood that, did Hackett make it out? He worried the Admiral had been killed. But he pushed it back, there wasn't anything to be done but head back to their barracks and wait to be given their armor… wait, all of them? Halsey had produced three-hundred suits of MJOLNIR armor? Anderson had told Shepard the armor was very expensive to produce, so expensive that Halsey said that if she had spent the amount it took to make them her universe would have had a new battle group flying around.

Where did she get her funding for something like that, if forty or so suits cost as much as a small battle group of starships. Shepard could only imagine how much these three-hundred newly developed suits cost the Alliance. But, he found it oddly endearing too. Halsey wanted the best for her Spartans, always seemed to trying to give them everything.

Then again, he understood why. She had taken their innocence, their childhood and replaced it with war and killing, something he didn't approve of, hell, he condemned her for it when he learned of the creation of the series II program. But, now… he understood. She was the one who made the hard decisions and lived with the guilt. Mendez got to be proud, Halsey got to blamed.

He sighed and was joined by his team, Valerie looked sour in her armor. Her expression through her unpolarized visor was hint enough, "Arcturus… gone, I can't believe it…" she said.

"I know…" James muttered from her side. "My cousin was posted there."

Connor and Shepard stayed in silence. Before Connor voice Shepard's thoughts, "We'll make them pay." He said from the rear, "We'll make those Reapers pay for everything!" he shouted loudly.

"Hoo-ah!" the Spartans echoed together. Shepard smiled, yes, they would make them pay alright.

* * *

**End of chapter 21**

**There it is, Reapers have entered the fray and it's going to get hot really quickly for the ME universe, also, creepy crawly flood abound… being creepy. Now, thanks to everyone who reviewed, I love reviews. They make me feel nice and warm and push me to type more.**

**Also, how as my space battle telling? I've never done much of it. So I'm curious if I did well… or horrible.**


	23. Opening Show

**In Infinitum**

**Chapter 22  
Opening Show**

**Vasili, Ghost system. Aurora Cluster. 2300 Hours.  
**Shepard and all ninety-nine other Spartan IVs were restless inside their barracks. He watched as Jonathon-211 played with his thumbs. Twenty others were sparing lightly in the corner of the long dorm room. Most of them just laid in their bunk beds, chatting away the two hours they had waited to be fitted with their armor.

Shepard glanced to his left, Valerie was sitting on the bed next to his, her bunkmate. Connor, was lazily snoring, enjoying the downtime. James? James was seated above Shepard and grumbling for the tenth damn time.

"James, I get it, you're impatient, stow that shit," Shepard growled up to him, He hit the bottom of the bunk hard, enough that he knew James felt it.

"Ow! Hey, I can't help it, we're stuck here while the Reapers are lightly pushing on the Alliance's front! We should be out there fighting!" The man jumped down from his bunk and turned to Shepard. "You can't really expect me to be calm after Halsey just told us Arcturus has fallen! Shepard, the most powerful station the Alliance could make is gone."

Shepard frowned. He knew the feelings James was going through, he had been through them too when he had faced the Collectors and lost most of the colonists at Horizon, when he had arrived too late to save them again when they were melted down at the Collector base and again when he was locked down by the Alliance top brass.

"I know what you're feeling, James," Shepard started, raising a hand to place it on the others shoulder. "But getting riled up for a battle that isn't going to happen soon isn't going to help win this war. We just need to wait for our orders and pray we can save as many as we can."

James growled, but said nothing more and instead mumbled, "I guess…" he took a breathe, cracked his neck and muttered. "You're right, now, where's our sweet ass armor?" he forced a smile. Shepard returned the simple gesture.

The doors to the barracks slid open and revealed four technicians, each held a datapad and glanced over the hundred Spartans before the leader said, "Come with us, Theta Company," he turned and walked. The others followed and so did the Spartans in a neat lines of four.

They were lead to the science division in the western side of the large facility known as HARVEST base. It held roughly one hundred personnel from techs to scientists, including Halsey's handpicked science team that had been responsible for many of the breakthroughs in the past few months since her arrival. Her team had designed the SPI Mark-III armor, The Reach and many other advancements from weapons to propulsion. This place is what Humanity represented, ingenuity.

They passed a large set of double doors and through some biometric scanners before they came to more doors. These ones marked with "Restricted access only" and with a sigh, the leader held up his passcard. It beeped and the doors slid apart to allow them inside. They proceeded inside the large chamber.

The Spartans stopped to gape. There in front of them were rows of armor suits, each held the sleek design that the Alliance favored, but it also had hard ridges of plating in other places as well that just seemed to blend together to make the perfect balance of intimidation and effective. Each suit was a dark blue with a fluorescent sheen to it. The helmets visor was golden, interlaced with micro fibre webbing to increase its durability.

"Sweet," Connor grinned beside Shepard. "Just… sweet."

Valerie and James nodded.

Shepard smirked, "The damage we can do with these," he said simply. But the reply was instantaneous, the Spartans who heard him all clenched their fists slightly, some stiffened and others outright grinned like predators itching for blood.

The technicians turned to them. "Alright, all of you pick a suit and wait by it, there all the same so don't get picky," he waved them off. They turned, left the room out another set of doors.

Shepard and the Spartans moved to the suits. No less then thirty seconds later had all one hundred of the armor suits been claimed by a Spartan. They stood at side of each, looking at it keenly in awe and admiration, excitement. Shepard stared at the gold reflective visor and he saw his face reflected back at him.

The doors the techs left at opened again and dozens of technicians marched inside, easily over forty of them, they split up into teams and moved to the nearest Spartans. Apparently, they were here to help them into their armor. Halsey entered shortly after, saw Shepard and approached him.

"John," Halsey spoke his name with a certain fondness. The older woman smiled at him and continued, "Sorry, Commander. I just… you're so alike," she said and turned to the armor suit. "I suppose you want to know how this armor works, correct?"

"I understand the gist of it," Shepard replied with a nod. "Makes you faster, stronger and harder to kill."

"Series four through six, yes," Halsey waved a dismissive hand. "But this suit, this single unit can do so much more for you, Shepard," she turned to him and smiled. Her eyes gleamed with pride, "The suit's underlayer is a mixture of micro fibre weaving, Crystalline reactive circuits, ballistic and pressure gels with absorbent properties." She patted its armored gauntlet lightly, "The reactive circuitry increase your reflexes and reaction time by a factor of seven, much higher then any of the previous models."

Shepard whistled lowly and said, "Sounds good, what about the plating?"

"The plating is specially made by Asari Republics, the plating it duel layered, the upper layer is designed using refractive coated armor usually reserved for dreadnoughts, this layer is designed to absorb and dissipate energy weapon impacts. Reducing the heat output," Halsey explained and took a quick breath, "The second layer of the armor is hyper dense titanium alloy that's designed to stop anything that gets through the first layer in its tracks." she smiled.

"Airtight?"

"Three hours worth of EVA time at full capacity," Halsey replied with a nod. "Also, the suit comes equipped with multiple jump thrusters for EVA work in space, two primary ones on the back above the micro fusion plants. More on your calves, knees, shoulders and elbows. Also on your chest for those quick stops or reverses." she listed off the perks of the armor.

Around him, Spartans were getting fitting into their new armor by techs, they were covered in the black under layer of the armor, then sealed. Soon the plates started getting fit onto them as well, there were complaints of the armor being uncomfortable. But Halsey explained that was because the power hadn't been activated yet.

"Also, this armor is capable of un-assisted high altitude-low orbit drops." She said.

"What?" Shepard blinked. Not sure he heard correctly.

Halsey gestured to the small little bulging dome between the fusion plants on the back. "This is an element zero core, Shepard. It allows you to briefly…" she searched for the right word, "Alter, your physical weight. Allowing you to be lighter for short periods of time, meaning you can fall from a very high place at terminal velocity, engage this core and you'll be light as a feather, course, you'll be a feather falling at the same velocity, but a quick application of the jump thrusters will solve that problem quickly enough." she smiled, "In simpler terms, for brief moments you may as well be in zero-gee."

Shepard was utterly stunned by that. He could hardly begin to grasp how she got that sort of technology to work, let alone fit it inside something like this suit of armor he was going to be given. He could fall into the battlefield from low orbit and land without so much as a scratch… the thought was both exciting and terrifying. Would it work? He didn't want to test it.

"How about shielding?" He whispered.

"The shielding using cyclonic barrier technology, miniaturized of course for the armor instead of the larger ship classes," Halsey said and adjusted her glasses higher onto her nose. "Your also able to increase and decrease shield density to other parts of your body, meaning you can divert power to certain areas to increase their protection in the field. A useful feature I think." she added.

"Aside from all that, it comes with thermal and night vision modes, upgraded motion sensor and communication suits, VI and AI ports, both just as compatible as the other." she shrugged and watched as the technicians made their way over to Shepard, she turned to him and smiled again. "Well, I best be off, John…" she turned and marched away.

Shepard watched her go. Then turned to the techs and followed their instructions as they disassembled the suit and got it ready for Shepard. He glanced over to James and saw his teammate being fitted into his own armor.

* * *

**Turian Hierarchy Military High Command center, Palavan. Apien Crest system. 2450 Hours.  
**Garrus Vakarian wasn't one for this sort of thing. Sitting around and directing his specially assigned task force, ever since the Reapers had been confirmed to exist by the council the hierarchy had been in military lock down, every soldier in the reserves had been deployed and assigned to key defensible planets and multiple larger versions of the Thanix cannons had been produced and planted onto every capital ship and cruiser they could get back to the shipyards for refitting. He was thankful that the threat of the Reapers were being taken seriously now.

Which was why he was here on Palavan overseeing some very important military like how many fleets would they commit to each relay into Turian Space, possibly tactics against the Reapers and most importantly how to go on the offensive, They couldn't play defense the whole war. No, doing that wouldn't win. At most it would drag it, Garrus knew every army had a base of operations.

But where was the Reapers base? They could have made it in Darkspace, in which case it was up to luck to eliminate them all. But in this big, whole galaxy a few Reapers could hide anywhere and never be found until they struck again. They didn't need supply lines as far as he could tell too, which complicated things. An army that didn't need supply lines or a main theatre of operation was something he wasn't trained to fight. This war would be fought using new tactics.

His com blinked. He was receiving a message, turning away from the politicians he opened his com and said, "Report."

"_Vakarian, sir! Our long range sensors are picking up activity near the relay, can't tell if it's reapers yet, but we're pulling our scout ships back to the main fleet, what are your orders_?" his Lieutenant, Vaor Kryllick. Was new to the task force, he was a biotic and former member of CABEL. Turian Black Ops.

"Alert all nearby fleets and tell them to get their Thanix cannons warmed up," Garrus turned to them table where the politicians spoke to the Primarch. "Excuse me, Gentlemen," he said, interrupting their talks. "We've received reports of activity near the relay, we're not sure if its Reapers or now, but I'm not taking any chances with the lives of the entire hierarchy high command, Primarch, if you'll come with me sir?"

He gestured the Primarch, the most powerful Turian position to Garrus' knowledge.

The Primarch looked at Garrus condescendingly. Vakarian knew the Primarch, or any of the higher military didn't like him because of his history, leaving C-sec with Shepard to fight off Saren, then rejoining only to leave again and go rogue out in the Terminus Systems and once he rejoined he kept stirring up troubles about the Reapers. Which forced the Primarch to finally give Garrus some resources.

Now he was one of the most powerfully placed individuals in the chain of Command because the Reaper threat was real and he was the only Turian alive who knew anything about their new enemy.

"Of course, Commander Vakarian," the Primarch's tone was nuetral. "Generals, as protocol dictates, I am on my way for the Citadel, the council will likely want set up talks there concerning our entire galactic situation." he stood and nodded, "Be safe."

He turned in time to see Garrus listening to his com with narrowed eyes, suddenly. All their com channels were flooded with static, then with a hissing screech a synthetic voice bellowed. "_I am Monarch! And I am your ascension_!"

Garrus frowned. "The hell was that…" he mumbled, then switched channels. "Lieutenant, what's the word on the relay?"

"_Sir! We've got massive activity at the Relay! Sensors are reading seventy-six, eighty! By the spirits_!" there was a hiss of static over the com line several seconds before the Lieutenant's voice returned. "_I estimate two-hundred and thirty-seven Reapers! All headed by a single massive unit sir, I'm guessing a flagship_."

Garrus' eyes widened and the Turian felt his throat go dry. Two-Hundred Reapers were now headed straight for Palavan? Spirits there was enough firepower there to wipe out the Turian race's homeworld! He turned the Primarch, who wore the same expression of awe. "You hear it too?"

"Yes, Vakarian," the Primarch hissed and turned to the generals. "Mobilize all fleets! Send a communication to our allies we'll need reinforcements, whatever they can send! Palavan is going to be hit hard…" he growled.

"We have to get to the Phestier and off planet, Primarch, now!" Garrus didn';t have time to waste, at max strength, the Turian fleet was four hundred and thirty plus strong ships, but up against that many Reapers? Garrus wouldn't lie. They would fight bravely, but Garrus knew the odds were slim. If they had faced the numbers that had taken out the Alliance Arcturus station, this would be over quickly, but now? Well. Least they had the Reapers outnumbered.

The Primarch nodded and soon he and Garrus were moving towards the shuttle bays where they would board a shuttle and be taken to the moon where their escort would be waiting to evacuate the Primarch to the Citadel. So far still the safest place in the Galaxy.

Reports from the fleets started streaming into Garrus and the Primarch's communications lines. The Reapers were on a bull charge, the flagship and every other Reaper were charging in a phalanx towards Palavan. They were trying to come to ground, Garrus frowned. "Standard Reaper tactics, take out the head and the body dies," he spat.

"What?"

"They're trying to land on Palavan and begin destroying the Hierarchy high command," Garrus replied as he and the Primarch entered the shuttle bay. "The fleets won't be able to stop all of them from getting by, we should expect Reaper ground troops on Palavan soon."

"What ground troops?"

"Collectors? Husks? Hell if I know, Primarch, I've never seen a Reaper ground invasion," Garrus replied and tapped his com. "Take us out of here, pilot. Best speed to the moon."

The shuttle lifted off the deck and sped out and into the sky. Garrus watched as the massive city they were in grew further and further away, then… the clouds overhead sparked red and his mouth opened in surprise.

In his com, a Turian shouted. "_Contacts! Anti-air defense online_!"

Soon, the descending Reapers were pelted by tiny AA fire, they didn't slow and soon touched down. Their massive structures towered above most of the large buildings within the city. Only the highest of buildings stood taller than they did, and soon those building started to burn as the Reapers opened fire. Their pulse lasers targeted the anti-air batteries. Their Main guns sheered through rows of buildings.

"Spirits…" Garrus whispered.

The Reapers moved along in their slow, lumbering pace to wherever they saw fit. A few "crouched" down and went belly onto the buildings, Garrus pulled his rifle and used the scope through the viewing window. From these smaller Reapers poured hundreds, soon thousands of Husks who began to swarm the streets, smashing windows and tearing apart any unlucky civilians.

The shuttle broke the atmosphere and Garrus, still in shock from the sight of his home city being invaded by Reapers. Stared blankly at the scene before him now, the Turian fleets were mixed up in multiple, spread out battles with larger Reapers. The wrecked hulls of Turian frigates, cruisers and dreadnoughts floated towards the planet and then started to burn up on re-entry.

He noticed there were a few Reaper wreckages as well, too few, however… much too few for the dozens of Turian ship hulls now nothing more then scrap metal. "Vakarian!"

"Yes, Primarch?" Garrus replied, tearing his gaze away from the sight as more Reapers drifted towards the planet's surface.

"It… will be alright, son," The Primarch said, unsure how to console the other Turian. He too was shocked, but something inside him knew Garrus was in worse shape. How could he not be? They had ignored his urgings of preparation for months since his return now… he was seeing his homeworld burn by the very things he wanted to warn them about.

"Yeah, it will…" Garrus muttered, "We'll win. But it will be a bitter victory."

Motes of fire appeared on the Planet's surface on the dark side.

The Primarch grunted, "Always is…"

* * *

**Citadel-Security headquarters, Citadel. 0250 Hours.  
**"I'm getting refugees up the ass and right now its only Batarians!" Executor Watts growled as Bailey, Sparatus and Udina stood before him. "You realise once more colonies and systems get hit by this growing can of worms, more refugees will come, right? Now, you want me to… what again?" the executor used air qoutes. "Give them passage? I already allowed Aria T'loak on the station without so much as a weapons scan thanks to Tevos. Now this? I'm trying to keep the peace. And I can't do that when the docking bays filled with ships and scared wittless idiots!"

"Then use the ships," Sparatus countered when the executor finished talking. "Tell the Refugees that any ships that dock with the citadel that are to be commandeered, then send them to the following coordinates…" he raised his Omni-tool, then the executor's blinked. "where they'll be refitted for combat and put on Citadel defense. If they don't submit their ships, then you make them leave."

The executor blinked, then frowned and said, "On whose orders should I say they're by?"

"The order of the council and every ascenting embassy on the citadel, we need every ship we can get, Executor, how many ships have we docked already? Hundred? Two-hundred?"

"Hundred and fifty-six," Watts replied lowly, thinking it over. It was genius really, anyone who wanted on the Citadel had to make a donation to the defense fleet, helping themselves by helping the citadel. "They help us, they help themselves in their defense…" he murmured.

"Exactly," Udina nodded.

Bailey raised his hand, "I know I'm the lowest ranking guy here, but I have an idea too, if your all interested," he said, cheeky smile on his face.

"Of course, Commander. We wouldn't have brought you along if we didn't value your opinion," Sparatus replied with a nod.

"Why not put up volunteer stations inside the Refugee camp? In times like these, for every three scared person there's always ones who gung-ho to take up a gun and fight for their family, lover or the dead. We could use all the able bodied men and women willing to help us keep this place orderly when things get really bad."

"Really bad?"

"Supplies, our lines are still good, but you've read the reports from Tevos and Valern. Their borders are being pushed at by the Reapers, if our supply lines to Asari space are cut off, our supply of medical equipment is going to start falling faster then we can replenish it. Or our weapons shipments from Palavan, who, by the reports, are getting a new one torn into them." Bailey frowned. "Get it?"

Sparatus nodded grimly, "Yes ,Commander, I see your point."

"Yes, grim indeed…" Udina sighed, then turned to the executor. "Can you make it happen?"

"Give me an hour," Watts said and nodded. "I'll have results, lets see if my Alliance Drill instructor days are really behind me," he grinned.

The three others nodded. Then bid farewell and left the executors office.

"That went well," Bailey commented.

"Yes, well, he knows what's at stake, despite his keep the peace speech, he knows what's going to happen, he just wanted to know our reasoning." Sparatus replied calmly, "I can see why. In times like these, people sometime do stupid things for stupid reasons."

"Yes," Udina said. "But now, we have to contend with matters of strategy, Palavan is being hit the hardest so far, Reaper scouts have been reported in Asari and Salarian space, a skirmish here and there, but nothing too violent."

"Yet, anyways," Sparatus added.

"Yeah, don't expect the Reapers will lay low on those two for too long, what about the Krogan?" Bailey asked.

"Hah! Those brutes haven't even sent in a greeting card, I sent a scout ship, Reapers haven't entered the system, but the Krogan are trying to prepare for ground warfare."

Bailey blinked. "No ships?"

"Their fleet is in orbit around the Relay, its small. But they've welded massive amounts of armor to them…" Udina shook his head. "Ground combat… really."

"Hmm," Sparatus hummed before turning to Udina. "What about Earth?" he asked.

"Earth? Well, last report sent said their relay was clear, sides the surviving fleets from Arcturus returning to Moon base for repair and refuelling," The human councillor replied. "Though, one of our research bases on Mars has failed to send a report in the last seven hours, readings from the probe nearby says there's a storm in the area. So it's probably just interference from the storm that's stopping their interplanetary communications." He shrugged.

Sparatus and Bailey frowned. They both felt something wrong with that, it seemed too convenient to their military trained minds.

"You should send a scout party, just to be safe," Bailey said with nod. "Can't be too careful in these times, y'know?"

Udina paused, appearing thoughtful before nodding. "I'll tell Hackett to send Shepard."

"Why Shepard?"

"Because one of his old crew is there, Liara T'soni," Udina replied simply.

Bailey blinked. Then said, "Why is she there?"

"Because, he ruins are home to the prothean dig site where we first discovered Element Zero technology, she asked to have access to them in the hopes of finding out anything that might be able to defeat the Reapers." Udina explained as they came to the lift, stepping inside and letting the doors closed he continued. "We agreed, she's been there for months now. Said she might have found something useful, she's still trying to decrypt the data."

"Why haven't you mentioned this before, Udina?" Sparatus asked, clearly annoyed.

"There was nothing to mention," Udina replied with a frown. "I'm sorry." he sighed, "her theories, however, say it could be a blueprint to a structure, _maybe_ a weapon."

"When did she report this?" Sparatus asked. Bailey turned to Udina too.

"In her last report before the station went silent," Udina blinked, confused. "Why?"

Sparatus and Bailey stared at the human Councillor like he was the dumbest human in history. "The station goes silent as soon as she mentions a possible super weapon, and this doesn't bother you?"

"The storm-"

"Is the perfect cover for an infiltration operation to secure the date," Bailey interrupted him. The sighed and said, "Damnit, Udina… tell Hackett to double time it!"

Udina blinked, thinking it over. Then his eyes widened and he growled, "Cerberus…" he spat and clenched a fist. "Who else would try to take the plans for a super weapon during a war?"

He stormed out of the elevator and towards his office. He needed to be quick.

* * *

**End of chapter 22**

**There's chapter 22! And now we dive into the ME3 storyline a bit more and Cerberus had entered the fray too! Now, to those who ask for the Chief, I'm still debating whether or not to include him. As I have been trying to avoid him for the better part of the time I've written this, he may show up. But I'm also not saying it will be soon. Now, if you would all leave a nice little review, I'd be most pleased!**

**Now, thanks to all those who reviewed! I'm glad my Space battle wasn't horrible and you like the story! as for our next glimpse of Lucy, hehe.  
**


	24. Mars

**In Infinitum**

**Chapter 23  
Mars**

**SSV-**_**Upon Reach**_**, en route to Mars Archives. 0700 Hours**.  
Commander John Shepard, N7 Operative and Spartan-IV, stood at the bridge of his ship. Hands behind his back and eyes forward, staring at the blackness of space as they moved at full speed towards Mars. The place where Humanity had first discovered the prothean ruins and jumped ahead thanks to their technology. Now, there was a research station dedicated to trying to find out more about the mysterious race that the Reapers had wiped out in the previous cycle.

It was also where a supposed Cerberus task force had been deployed, this irked Shepard to the point that he was half temped to just call up the Illusive Man and asked him to go suck on the barrel of a gun before pulling the trigger. But no, something wasn't right about this.

"EDI, tap into the Alliance probe system around Mars. Find out if it is really Cerberus," Shepard said flatly.

"At once, Shepard," EDI replied though the ships speakers.

"You don't think it is?" Joker asked as he glanced over at Shepard over his shoulder at the Commander.

"Just a hunch," Shepard replied vaguely before turning away and asking, "ETA?"

"Five minutes to Mars, let me guess, prep a shuttle and get the ground team down in the hanger, right?" Joker asked while doing his best Shepard impression… which wasn't that good.

"Yes, I'll be taking Ashley and James with me," Shepard didn't like how Admiral Hackett had assigned Ashley Williams to his ship. She and him weren't on the level anymore, she distrusted him and he was tired of her suspicious questioning. It was counterproductive to the team cohesion.

He wanted Valerie and Connor aboard, but with the reports from Palavan coming in. Shepard knew they and the Theta would be deployed to ground on Palavan soon enough. So far it looked like the Reapers were spreading their forces, taking smaller colony worlds first and harvesting the population to turn into husks.

He closed his eyes and walked into the elevator, letting the doors close and felt the inertia of its descent. He had received a message from Garrus as well, his friend had told him that Reapers were harvesting Turians to turn them into some sort of combat troop. Garrus had already seen their Batarian combat husks… they were usually sent in after a few hundred Husks assaulted a location.

The Reapers were clever alright, targeting colonies and taking the population to be converted into their ground forces and then deployed against the rest of the galaxy as monstrous freaks bent on killing everything that crossed their paths.

"Damn if I don't admire their brutality though," Shepard muttered as the doors parted and he marched into the hanger where Ashley and James were waiting for him. He spotted his ground team by the shuttle, James Vega was leaning against the side of his. His MJOLNIR armor still clean as it had been when they had been fitted with them hours ago."

"Hey, Commander," he raised his gauntleted hand. "So, how does the suit feel?"

"Like I'm wearing air that can flip a shuttle onto its back," Shepard replied as he raised his own hand and gave a simple high five to the Lieutenant. Turning to Ashley, who stared at Shepard through his un-polarized visor, her eyes flashed with emotions before she said.

"Commander," it was clear she wanted to say something else, but she held her tongue for now. Probably wait till they were groundside before asking more questions. She looked to James and him again before asking, "What happened to you two?"

"The war," Shepard replied before James could. "Onto the shuttle you two, we have to get down there and see what's up, if the research station is under attack, we've been authorized to use whatever force is necessary to ensure we take it back."

He finished informing them of the situation and soon they were off gong down towards the planet. EDI's voice sounded inside his helmet, "_Shepard, I've run scannings of the planet, a storm is moving towards the station and will arrive in two hours, after that it will be difficult to maintain connection to the Reach. Extraction might not even be possible in the shuttle_." She paused. "_Another thing, I scanned some of the radio chatter. Encryption codes do paint the source as Cerberus_."

"Illusive Man," Shepard growled and clenched his fist tightly before relaxing it again. "Anything else?"

"_Nothing more. No chatter from the science teams on the station_." EDI's voice went quiet and the connection closed.

"Alright," Shepard spoke up, making Ashley and James' heads rise. "EDI just confirmed it's Cerberus on Mars. We're getting no com chatter down there from any of the science teams or Alliance Security personal posted at the site. Shoot first, ask questions later. But watch your fire, could be survivors."

"Cerberus?" James replied, raising a brow behind his visor. "Your old friends not like you anymore, loco?"

"Apparently not," Shepard replied icily. "But they just made the galaxies worst mistake." he slid a thermal magazine into his Banshee. "They crossed me."

"You didn't know about this?" Ashley spoke, scrutinizing Shepard. "I mean, nothing at all?"

Shepard sighed, "No, Ash, I didn't."

She opened her mouth, then shut it again when the shuttle shook and they looked out the windows. They had broken the atmosphere and were descending down on the facility. A massive cloud of dust travelled over the orange-red landscape towards the facility. Shepard now saw why it would be hard to maintain contact, the cloud was huge and thick. He'd need point-to-point laser transmission strength to punch through it. Something his MJOLNIR had, but unless he knew the exact location of the Reach, he wouldn't be getting anything out.

"Only an hour window before that storm maroons us on the planet till its over," Shepard added without looking away from the viewing window. "So we need to be fast, try to keep up Ash."

James chuckled. "What's that supposed to mean?" Ashley huffed.

"You'll see, Lieutenant Commander," Shepard replied with a smug tone before the shuttle touched down. "Alright, move!" the door hissed open and the three jumped out onto the ground. She paused to order the pilot, "Set down somewhere out of sight, Cortez. If an hour and half passes without word, bunker down someplace safe until the storm passes, understood?"

Steven Cortez gave a thumbs up, then the shuttled lifted off into the sky and zoomed off opposite of the station. They had been put down on the outskirts of the station in the cliff area around it.

"Alright, lets move, I'll take point, James, take the middle, Ashley. Your on rear guard," Shepard ordered his team. James light winked green and Ashley nodded an affirmative, least should follow orders without questioning him in the field.

They jumped down onto another ledge then proceeded along the trail. They spotted a Mako class tank, several Alliance marines lay dead against the vehicle. "Check them," he ordered James as he and Ashley covered him.

"Dead," James said, looking at the single hole in their helmets. "Looks like they didn't put up a fight," he turned to Shepard. "That mean anything to you?"

"Inside job," Shepard replied flatly. It had to be, this place was defensible. Cerberus would need several platoons of troops to take it… unless they had one or two people on the inside to clear a path, remove alarms and scramble communications. Then it would take a single platoon and some careful planning. And planning was something Cerberus did very well.

"You don't say?" Ashley asked, a bit too harsh for Shepard's liking. He didn't pursue it though, it would only lead to another argument. So, he focused on the mission at hand.

"Gunfire," he said, straining to listen. Another shot echoed out, it was around the bend. "On your toes, people." he said into the com. Raising his Banshee they proceeded forward in a loose V formation with Shepard at its head, they stopped short of the turn and Shepard went prone and crawled slowly to observe what was happening.

Several Alliance marines were kneeling. Hands bound and heads down, a single Cerberus soldier stood in the center of their circle, there were seven of them. Each was a standard trooper from what Shepard could tell. The center one put his weapon the marines helmet. So close the kinetic barriers wouldn't snap up fast enough to stop the round. He fired and the marine slouched over.

Shepard narrowed his eyes and whispered into the com. "James, target the furthest two, Ashley, take the other two near the Mako. I've got the last three," he issued the orders and raised his Banshee, his aim was steady and he magnified the zoom to ten times. He could make out the enemies helmet.

"Take them."

His Banshee flashed in a short three burst, James' only twice and Ashley let out a stream of rounds. Their opening salvo of fire took out their intended targets, all but one Cerberus trooper stayed still, the last gripped for his weapon. It was out of reach, he sputtered… then died.

"Move up, secure those survivors!" Shepard barked and the three moved over to the two other kneeling marines. Beside them lay the bodies of four of their comrades. "You hurt, soldier?"

The marines looked up at Shepard and James with brief eyes of fear and awe before they saw the Alliance insignia on their chests. "No, sir…" one of them replied, looking to the dead Cerberus troopers. "They said we'd be handed over to the Alliance after they got what they wanted here if we surrendered…"

Shepard kept his temper in check. The fact they surrendered angered him, instead he asked. "What happened? How did Cerberus get here?"

That was also bugging Shepard. Cerberus couldn't have gotten here without the Alliance's knowledge, they had sent probes and a scout ship to the relay to make sure the Reapers didn't come through and surprise Earth. But the ship or probe had reported nothing entering through the relay. So how in the hell did Cerberus get to Mars without detection?

"I don't know, sir," the marine shook his head, "Scanners picked up some weird readings in orbit, then they were gone and an hour later our com lines went down, next thing I know my platoon and I were under fire. We surrendered after the sarge and LT bit it."

"Congratulations, Marine," Shepard growled as he stood, "You just put your Sergeant and Lieutenant sacrifices to waste, along with them." he gestured to the four other marines. "Now, get inside the Mako and wait for extraction, my team and I are going to retake the facility."

"Just the three of you? That's impossible, Cerberus has an entire platoon of forty strong, at least!" The marine protested. "Let us help you, sir."

"You've helped enough, now follow my order, corporal." Shepard barked, the marine nodded and they were unbound. They got inside the mako and Shepard and his team moved on towards the Facilities entrance.

"little harsh, don't you think, Shepard?" Ashley asked as they walked.

"Surrender is the cowards way out, better to die doing your duty then die failing it," Shepard replied with some ice. He realized that it was harsh, but Mendez, Fred and Jorge had constantly drilled into them the Spartan code. "Duty above all else." and it was now Shepard's duty to complete this mission and win this war to ensure humanity's safety.

"Yikes," Ashley muttered before scanning the area with her Banshee.

"She doesn't understand, huh?" James said to Shepard on the short com, chuckling.

"Not a bit," Shepard agreed. The stopped when they reached the entrance, there were multiple Cerberus shuttles parked outside, seven that Shepard could see initially. "Proceed slowly, you two, I don't like this," a funny feeling inside Shepard scream ambush.

They were in the center of the formation, then a voice yelled. "Now!"

Several grenades flew over the vehicles and landed in the midst of the team. Shepard's hand lashed out, caught one and tossed it back in one smooth motion before he grabbed Ashley and leapt up… eight feet into the air. James glanced around, then raised his arms to protect his face and crouched low.

The grenades exploded and a small cloud of dust scattered, shrapnel pinged off Shepard's shields and Ashley's barriers. They landed, Shepard put Ashley down and drew his Banshee in time to see to several Cerberus troopers move from their cover. They opened fire onto the pair, thinking James finished.

Shepard ducked low to avoid a few rounds, then returned with his Banshee on full auto. Two troopers went down as the rounds pierced their armor and caused decompression. The others took cover, taking turns trying to suppress Shepard.

There was a yell of "Hoo-yeaah!" As James burst from the dust cloud and sprinted at roughly sixty KPH towards the nearest trooper, tacking him full force into the side of one of the shuttles with so much force the shuttle shifted on the ground and its frame bent. "It'll take more then that to drops these shields!" The Spartan turned, raised his Banshee and fired at the other troopers in cover since his position gave him a good firing angle.

They didn't last long under the hail of rounds and soon only two troopers remained. Shepard put them down with his standard issue Predator and they entered the facility. "So, how did your shields hold?" Shepard asked James.

"Five grenades at close? They shook my teeth, but the shields only drained to half, guess that what happens when you put starship level shields on infantry armor, eh?" the man grinned and they entered the lift. The room pressurized and they could breathe, only Ashley removed her helmet and approached Shepard.

"Shepard, I need a straight answer," she said, tone serious.

"Ash," Shepard sighed and hung his head. They didn't have time for this.

"Don't Ash me, Shepard," she said, stepping into his field of vision. "Did you know anything about Cerberus being here? Anything at all?" she asked, suspicion clear.

"No, I didn't," Shepard decided he was going to nip this thing in the ass right here. He looked to her, hard. "Ash, I haven't contacted Cerberus, nor have they contacted me, since I was imprisoned by the Alliance." he glowered at her. "Now, if you don't believe me then write a report about it and send it to Hackett or Anderson. Or stow it." the elevator stopped and the doors opened.

Shepard turned and walked out of the elevator, raising his Banshee. "Now, as a direct order. Stow it, I'm done trying to explain myself to you." he proceeded forward. Leaving James and Ashley behind.

James leaned over to Ashley and said, "The Commander was under constant surveillance during his incarceration, not even extranet access. He couldn't have contacted Cerberus and no one got to him either. And believe me, there wasn't any time for personal calls while in the Spartan program."

"Am I just supposed to believe he cut all ties?" Ashley murmured. Shepard's words stung her heart. Had the flame they embraced so long ago died? She closed her eyes.

"Believing's up to you, Commander, personally? He's the boss, so I just follow orders," James jogged after Shepard. Ashley took a breath, wiped her eyes and raised her weapon. Steeled her features and moved after them.

"Movement!" Shepard called and aimed at a ventilation shaft that clanged and thudded as something moved through it. He waited, seeing the end of the particular vent. "Hold fire until certain it's friend or foe."

The team waited. Then the hatch was kicked open and out jumped a familiar Asari scientist.

"Liara…" Shepard said with surprise. This was the last place he expected to find her in. She turned, charged her biotics and fired a singularity at the opening in time to catch two Cerberus troopers, who began to float around the gravity distortion.

Liara calmly drew her pistol. Fired twice and killed them both, they hit the deck. She double tapped them for measure and turned to the team, she stilled. Then sighed with relief, "Thank the spirits, Ashley Williams, I'm glad to see a friendly face." she jumped down to them, smiling.

"No greeting for me, Liara?" Shepard asked, un-polarizing his visor to reveal his cheeky smile. "I'm hurt."

Liara stared at him, blinking once. "Shepard! By the spirits, that's you?" she moved and looked up at him. She scanned his armor and she said, "You look… different, what armor is this? It doesn't look like anything I've ever seen before…" she scrutinized it.

"New design, I'll fill you in later," Shepard replied with a wave of his hand. "what's the situation here?" he asked, glancing to James and Ashley. Both were weapons ready and sweeping the area in cautious patterns with their weapons. He knew they had his back, much as Ashley mistrusted him. She was still a soldier.

"It's bad, little over an hour ago our communications went down, before we knew it our security personnel on perimeter patrol didn't respond and finally gunfire erupted inside the facility itself," The beautiful Asari scientist took a breath and shook her head. "By the time we knew it was Cerberus more than half the facility was in their hands."

Shepard nodded. "And the archives?"

"Me and what was left of the staff sealed every door there with heavy encryption to stall them until help arrived, guess you're it?" she crossed her arms and raised a brow.

"You complaining?" Shepard replied easily before hefting up his Banshee and opening a channel to James. "Motion tracker has contacts at forty out and closing, you see em?"

"Yeah, got em. Looks we're about to have company," James tapped Ashley on the shoulder and gestured to a door on the second floor platform above their position. It would be a good firing position for Cerberus since it was the high ground. Too bad the early warning of the motion tracker painted them.

"Hold on, Liara," Shepard turned to the Asari and wrapped one arm around her lower back and jumped up with what strength he could. The MJOLNIR amplified his jump and he cleared the platform railing and landed on the other side with a small thud of his armored boots.

"Lieutenant what ar-Ah!" Ashley squeaked when James did the same. Landing on the platform while Ashley clung to him with arm around his neck and a face of surprise and awe on her face. "You… and Shepard… are scarier now." she mumbled as she was let down.

"Liara, singularity by the door, now!" Shepard barked as he raised his Banshee. James did as well beside him, Ashley took a minute to stare at them before the door controls turned green and they began to slide open. Revealing Cerberus reinforcements, five of them.

They saw the team and raised their own weapons before Liara's singularity took hold and they sucked into the vortex, one hung onto the door frame and fired off two rounds. Liara grunted and hissed when her shoulder spat blood as one round tore through it, her science uniform didn't provide shielding and she staggered back.

Shepard, James and Ashley put the Cerberus team down like a firing squad in retaliation. Once they were down Shepard moved to Liara's side and asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Shepard. Just a graze," She replied, standing flexing her arm with a wince. "I'm still combat ready."

"Not fully, you're not," Shepard simply and turned to Ashley. "Ashley, you and Liara head to the security room, take it back and hold there. I want surveillance cameras on the archive room and Cerberus' progress into the facility."

Ashley immediately protested. "But, Commander-"

"Lieutenant Commander Williams, I just gave you a direct order," Shepard growled at her, not turning to face her. "You and doctor T'soni are to take and hold the Security room and use the consoles there to provide overwatch for me and James while we get to the core. Are these orders unclear?"

Ashley closed her mouth, swallowed and then saluted. "No, Commander! Sir," she sighed, turned to Liara and said, "Lead the way,," Liara nodded, then the pair left off to fulfill their orders. Shepard could already tell this was going to be a swimmingly fine partnership between him and Williams.

"Little harsh, eh?" James said as he and Shepard moved out into the hall towards the tram room to get to the part of the facility where the archives were being held.

"I can't have her second guessing my orders, James. You know that," Shepard replied. Not taking his eyes away from the hall as they moved.

"I know, just couldn't hurt to be a little less rough, y'know?"

Shepard frowned. "Maybe. I just can't be soft on her anymore, this war is going to push us all, I can't afford compassion for these things." he stopped, pressed against a wall and gestured James forward.

"I suppose," James ducked into the doorway and scanned the hallway, he paused then said. "Whoa!" he leapt to the side and pressed against the wall as several heavy machinegun rounds sheared past them. "Ceiling mounted machine cannon," he reported.

"What the hell is that doing in the tram room?" Shepard asked, perplexed. That was an odd thing to place inside a tram room. "Any chance we can take it out before it takes us out?" he asked.

"Hold on," James held out his arm, his fist curled. A series of loud shots rang out and whipped past them before one struck James; outstretched hand with enough force it made the Spartan real it back and shook his head, "Single round took my shields down to seventy percent." he glanced down the hall, then leaned back out of the way as more rounds peppered the wall beside him. "Any plans?"

Shepard shrugged.

"Great…" James drawled.

* * *

Ashley pressed her back up against the doorframe as Liara worked on getting the door to the security room open. "You'd think there would be more Cerberus here, I mean.. why not guard the security room instead of putting a lock on it?"

"They probably pulled them back to ensure Shepard didn't reach the archive until they've completed their mission," Liara replied with a bit of strain. Her shoulder stung and she was kneeling in front of the door and trying to get it open, but Cerberus wasn't sloppy with their computer security. "Goddess! Finally!"

The door blinked green, then they slid open to reveal the dead security personnel still at their desks. Slumped over onto their consoles, some on the floor beside their chairs. Liara stepped and Ashley stepped inside with weapons raised.

"Damn, Cerberus," Ashley growled and lowered her weapon when she saw it was clear. Liara began to lower hers, then caught a flicker in the air that quickly closed distance on them. She fired once, missed and then gasped hunched over as blood pooled at her back and stomach.

There was an electrical pulse in the air and the active camoflage of a black clad female stood before Liara, her shoulder supporting the Asari's head while a three foot blade shone in the light from her back, coated in blood.

"Liara!" Ashley shouted and raised her Banshee then fired a short burst. The woman's hand snapped up and her palm produced a barrier that stopped the shots cold, it turned its head. Then withdrew its blade from its victim and spun around in the same motion to deliver to a kick to Liara's midsection that sent the Asari flying out of the room.

Ashley fired again and the figure streaked right with inhuman speed and closed the distance on Ashley, its blade flashed and she raised her Banshee. Metal clanged and the assailant flipped over Ashley's head when her strike was parried, the Commander growled and spun around to slam the buttstock of her weapon into the enemies side as she landed.

The woman's kinetic barriers failed and her armor dented with the blow, she staggered back and raised her palm again. Instead of a barrier a powerful blast sounded and Ashley's own shields failed and she was sent back onto the floor. She barely caught her senses before she had to roll to the side to avoid being impaled by her attacker, she looked left and saw the blade had been plunged a few inches into the flooring.

She reeled her leg back and kicked hard. The blade snapped in half and the assailant jumped back, glanced at the weapon and tossed it away before taking out her knife. Ashley jumped to her feet and raised her weapon then fired.

The figure's barrier popped back with her palm.

Ashley glared and held down the trigger and fired a continuous stream of metal that pinged off the enemies barrier. Her ammo went down to a quarter before the barrier shattered and several rounds connected with the kinetic barriers of the other, who grunted lowly and jumped to the side with a wide spin and cloaked before the flicker shot out of the room and down the hall.

Ashley reloaded and moved into the hall. She fired and hit nothing, waiting a moment before she turned to Liara, grabbing the Asari's leg she dragged her into the security room and sealed the door. "Damnit," she kneeled next to the injured Asari check the injury. It was bad, "I'm no medic!" she yelled in frustration before pulling out some medigel.

She applied it, it wouldn't fix her. But it would keep Liara live until they could get her back to the Reach. She opened her com, "Shepard, Liara's down, but not out. Yet, we were ambushed by some super Cerberus ninja or something! She got away, but we took the security room. Orders?"

There was a bout of heavy gunfire before Shepard's voice came over the com. "_Can you disable a heavy machine cannon in the tram room? It's got me and James pinned down and Cerberus is pushing on us, nothing we can't handle but we're on a time limit_!"

"Uh, hold on, let me see," Ashley patted Liara's hand once before standing and moving over to one of the consoles. She swept it over, then said, "I have it, Shepard. Shutdown is fried, but I can alter its friend-or-foe routine." she typed in some commands. "And presto! Cerberus you just got turret jacked by Ashley Williams!"

"_Good work, Ashley_." Shepard said, "_Now attend to Liara. We're moving forward. James! Sprint this_!" the com went out and Ashley sighed, then returned to Liara's side.

* * *

"Now attend to Liara. We're moving forward." Shepard turned to James, "James! Sprint this!" he barked and reloaded his Banshee, then the two Spartans lunged out of their cover and rushed down the hallway while shots pinged off their shields from the Cerberus troops giving chase. Shepard watched as the Turret aimed past them, but didn't shoot.

"James, go left! I'll go right!" He said over the com when he saw several more Cerberus forces inside the tram control room. They gathered their weapons and spread out to move into both exits.

Shepard and James reached the end of the hall and went both directions. The cannon on the ceiling opened fire on the Cerberus forces and tore them to shreds inside the hallway Shepard and James had been trapped in not too long ago.

James grinned behind his visor and yelled. "Yeehaaaaw!" he raised his Banshee and held down the trigger as he sprinted. Downing two troopers who got in his way, the other four raised their Mattocks and combined fire. The Spartan's shields dropped to a quarter under the heavy fire and he pumped his legs to shoot seven feet into the air and flew right over their heads to land behind them.

He jumped into the security room. Turned and waved at them, they raised their weapons and were torn apart by the heavy turret that had swivelled to target them while they were targeting James. The Spartan lazily dusted his hands before turning to face the room, a single Cerberus trooper stood by the other door with a Falcon explosive launcher.

"Oh shit." James muttered and flew back when a round from the launcher struck his chest. His shields blinked and fell when he hit the wall and slid down. "That smarts…" he grumbled and stood. The Trooper fired again and the round streaked towards James.

The Spartan's arm snapped up and promptly "slapped" the grenade round to the side where it exploded on the wall behind him. "Packs punch, but that thing is slow as a snail, amigo." He said, then pointed behind the trooper. "Don't look, it's Shepard."

The trooper readied to fire again when two hands gripped his head and twisted it violently with a sickening crack. The now limp Cerberus soldier fell to the floor dead, Shepard stood over him and dusted his hands off. Behind him lay the bodies of seven other troopers.

"Told him so," James shrugged and moved over to the console.

"What we got?" Shepard asked from beside him while leaning down and taking the Falcon. He checked it over and then attached it to his back, it might come in handy. His thoughts drifted back to Ashley and Liara, worry mustered but he pushed it back. He'd ensure their status after the mission.

"Looks like a last ditch effort to stop us, they're sending fifteen strong across on a tram," James paused and then said, "One tram is still here. We can take that, or we gonna wait here and ambush them?"

"Onto the tram, I have an idea." Shepard replied while he stepped out of the tram control room and hopped down onto the tram floor. He moved over to the doors, they slid open and he stepped into the spacious tram.

"What's the plan, Commander?"

"We stop their ride." Shepard hefted the Falcon to bear. "I think this will clear a crowded tram nicely." he said with anticipation.

"It would," James held up a pair of Cerberus grenades in his hand. "These might help too." he stepped onto the tram and soon they were on the move. They cleared the small docking tunnel and saw the surface of Mars again.

And how close the storm was getting.

"Cutting it close, aren't we?" James said through the com.

"Just a little," Shepard replied and saw the other tram coming from the other end of the rails. He smiled, "There they are," he raised his Falcon and aimed carefully, he knew this thing arced at longer distances so he needed to take that into account. Then, his HUD adjusted and the targeting reticule became a range finder and drop meter per distance.

"Thank you, Halsey." the Commander whispered.

"Explosive on the track," James said, nodding down the track they were using. "I can take it out, but will take out the rail for this tram."

"Then we switch with them." Shepard replied easily and fired one, then two grenade rounds. They flew and smashed through the windows of the other tram, the troopers inside reacted instantly. They tried to reach for them, but both grenades exploded, flooding the tram with a flash of fire and shrapnel. "Get them in there, James."

James primed the two grenades, waited for the other tram to get closer then threw them through the same window Shepard smashed. They detonated and both Spartans were sure no one was left alive. The trams passed and they leapt across through the doors just in time for their tram to be stopped by an explosion, the railing it travelled on was severed by the explosive James picked up.

"Good," James quickly reset the tram controls and they were moving back the way it came towards the other side of the facility where the archives were held. They reached the other end and stepped out in the tram room, took out the two Cerberus who tried to ambush them from the top banister and continued towards the archives.

The doors were open when they arrived. They stepped inside, swept the room and saw a woman accessing the console. She paused, turned and saw them both. Raising a Carnifex hand cannon she fired. The heavy round pinged off Shepard's shield, draining to sixty, they took cover since she was an accurate shot with one arm.

She turned back to the console. Tapped a key and turned back to them, "You're too late, Shepard!" the woman's voice dripped venom. She leaned forward and sprinted towards them, James and Shepard raised their weapons and opened fire.

She leaned, ducked and zig-zagged out of the way of the rounds before she closed on them, James took a swing at her and she ducked under it before leaping over Shepard entirely, they spun around and fired at her retreating back. Her shoulder spat sparks and she faltered, but then continued. "Damnit! James. Get her! I'll check the data."

"Got it, Commander," James sprinted after the woman as fast his MJOLNIR enhanced legs could carry him. Which to say was incredibly fast.

Shepard turned to the console and ran to it. He accessed it and saw the data was being deleted at an alarming rate, "Damnit," he had to act quickly. "EDI, I'm giving you a direct uplink to the archives, take what data you can before its deleted!"

"_Of course, Shepard_." EDI replied.

Shepard's MJOLNIR ejected a small data tab, he plugged it into the console and it pinged green. EDI was in, slowly, the data that hadn't been erased was moved onto the file. In twenty-four seconds she was done and she reported.

"_Thirty-two percent of the data retieved Shepard, I manage to also save the deleted strands for future reconstruction, As slim as it is, I may be able to recover more data_." Her tone sounded a little annoyed.

"Alright," Shepard sighed and turned. He had to catch up to James. His com beeped again and James' voice though.

"_Cerberus girl just jumped a shuttle and she's headed into space, sorry Loco. She's damned fast_," He sounded as disappointed as Shepard felt.

"EDI, a Cerberus shuttle is leaving the planet, Track it!" Shepard ordered briskly. He wasn't failing this mission.

"_Yes, Shepard. Tracking her now_…" EDI replied,

"Cortez, meet us at the entrance of the facility for extraction, we're going after Cerberus," Shepard added into another channel as he and James doubled timed it back to the tram. This mission had gone south pretty quickly, they had neutralized all hostiles and cleared the facility, but even then they were too slow.

"_Shepard, I'm reading an anomaly_…" EDI reported.

"What sort of anomaly?" Shepard asked, narrowing his eyes as he and James began to moved back towards the main facility on the tram.

"_If these readings are correct, it's a slipspace jump_."

Shepard blinked. But the emotion inside his gut was pure surpise.

* * *

In order, EDI watched as a black colored behemoth of a ship easily two dozen Kilometers in length. Without accurate scans EDI could only speculate its full size, but if she could compare it to anything. She would compare it to a Reaper Flagship in size. It had bulbous sections of mostly alien design, but mostly the angular human style of ship making.

Soon, the vessel disappeared into the wormhole of Slipspace.

* * *

**End of chapter 23**

**There it is people, Cerberus has a new ship! And it's a doozy. Hehehe, thanks to those who reviewed and showed their support, I appreciate it greatly. Now, if you would all be so kind as to leave a review, thanks! G'night/day!**


	25. First Move

**In Infinitum**

**Chapter 24  
First Move**

**SSV-**_**Spirit of Fire**_**. Slipspace. en route to Palavan. 0820 Hours.  
**The Spirit of Fire was a magnificent ship easily the size of two dreadnoughts and triple the firepower in a speedier package with enough free space to carry a contingent of five whole companies of Marines, enough ground armor to wage a small war and their most expensive package. Theta Company, the entire Spartan Company were currently sitting inside what was now known as the "drop bay" since it had been refitted to allow one hundred Spartans to be dropped from the ship during an over pass from the air.

It sounded crazy to Captain Ardulus' ears, but Alliance Brass had ensured her the Spartans knew what they were doing since they had all agreed to the plan. Then again, Cynthia Ardulus wasn't the most sound Captain either, her record was full of success based off unpredictability and unorthodox. A crazy Captain for a crazy ship manned by a crazy Spartans.

"Love at first sight," Ardulus said from her command chair on the bridge of the ship. She was currently checking over the _Spirit_'s specifications again. She hadn't been loaded with fighters, no. They hadn't added those simply because the Spirit made up for them with four dozen point defense high energy output defense turrets.

She sported a specially modified MAC gun that was able to fire four successive shots before needing to recharge. The slugs it fired were 600 tons of pure "F-U" to any unlucky ship or Reaper that got hit, it wasn't as big as the one at Arcturus, but hell. If they data recovered by the Normandy from the debris field is any indication, it would still be useful.

And if that failed. The twin "large" thanix cannons in the front and eighty-four Thanix missile pods would make them piss whatever passes for Reaper blood in no time. All in all, if the _Reach_ was amazing, the _Spirit_ was divine. Along with the heavy armaments and heavy armor plating. The retrofits included adding Cyclonic barriers to the hull. In fact a whole new reactor had been added solely to power the shields, giving them enormous strength.

Which they would need since they were about to go headlong into a battlefield that was hell on dirt and space if the Turian reports were right.

"Okay, so I'm skimming through the Turian tactical data they graciously sent us," beside the Captain's chair appeared the hologram of the ships AI, Seth, as the AI had chosen its name. "And so far, its appears our payload would be best served here," a small holographic Palavan appeared and a green circle blipped on it. "The capital city has several large surface-to-space cannons around it and is most defensible, if we can secure it. The Turians would have a fall back position and command center."

Ardulus wasn't big on the whole idea of letting Seth handle cyber warfare, point defense, slipspace jump calculations and data translation, but Admiral Hackett assured her that Seth had passed all the "safe tests" given to it by the eggheads from the science division. So, here Seth was. "Alright, so we'll take it, have the Turians been informed of our coming?" she asked, glancing at the small display.

"Yup!" Seth retook his form of a young man in a faint blue dress suit and slicked back hair with sharp eyes. "Oh, wait… no, silly me, hailing them now," he paused, then said. "Side note. Fifteen minutes out." he went silent and the com channel buzzed.

"_This is General Phastis, I'm reading you_," the transmission was audio only, so the Captain guessed the general was in a combat situation.

"General Phastis, this is Captain Ardulus of the SSV-_Spirit of Fire_ with the Alliance, we're fifteen minutes-"

"Fourteen now," Seth quipped.

Ardulus continued. "Out and closing fast, I understand your having trouble holding the Capital, what's the situation down there?"

"_Pretty bad, Reaper ground forces are trying to destroy the power plants keeping our cannons around the city offline so they land directly inside the city itself, one landed in the middle of it while the guns were fending off other Reapers from landing, we've been doing every damned thing to make sure it doesn't reach any of the power plants. But its moving steadily now since we lost the eightieth armored!_" there was an explosion and screech of a Husk in the background, followed by gunfire. "_Damnit, seal that door_!"

Captain Ardulus frowned. Situation was worse then she thought then, "Don't you worry about that Reaper, General, we'll put it down for you and drop some backup. We'll help you retake the capital," she smiled. "You have my word."

"_Thanks, didn't think the Alliance could spare the ships_," he sounded relieved.

"Ships? General. It's just us, the Spirit is all the support that's been sent," She said with a shrug.

"_One ship? Are you joking? Why only one ship_?" now he sounded appalled.

"Ten minutes, Captain," Seth chimed in.

"Because General, we're the only ship that doesn't need Mass Relays to travel across the galaxy," Ardulus smiled. "Now, we're ten minutes in, send me updated tac data and I'll be in touch."

"_Understood_…" The general sighed with resignation and muttered, "_One ship_…" before the com closed.

Ardulus checked the data. Tac maps of the capital appeared with various outlinings in Red showing enemy presence. So far, seventy percent of the Capital was under Reaper control, near the eastern area was a Reaper capital ship, moving steadily towards one of the six power plants that powered the cannons. "Hmm, big guy, huh?" Ardulus smirked. "Sound general hands to stations. I want every marine and Spartan armed and ready to hit the ground running and guns blazing."

"Aye, ma'am," Seth replied and faded a duller blue before brightened. "Orders issued. Spartans are preparing their drop tubes now, so, what exactly are we going to do again?" he raised a brow.

"Alright, we're going to fly over the Capital in a drive by style hit on the Reaper in the area, while doing that we're going to drop out payload as we go, from there they'll secure any generators in need of backup and the main military command center here," Ardulus tapped a location on the map of the city. "From there we can organize our efforts with the Turians and hopefully turn the tide of this battle. While the generator and city are being secured, we'll be in orbit helping the Turian fleets however we can."

"Outstanding plan, ma'am," Seth nodded. "If not a little crazy."

"Seth ma'boy," Ardulus grinned. "I was born crazy." she stated.

"Lucky for you then, ma'am," Seth returned the grin. "I _like _crazy."

Ardulus chuckled. Okay, maybe should get used to the AI being around, just maybe. She lifted her gaze to the maps, then said. "We there yet?"

"Exiting Slipspace in ten seconds ma'am," the AI replied with a nod. "Shall I inform our passengers?"

"Yes."

The AI nodded, sent a quick broadcast to the Spartan launch bay and then reappeared. "Done! Also, we're here." he turned ahead.

The slipstream parted for them… then revealed utter chaos as they appeared in the middle of a battle, fighters and Oculus drones dogfights were all around trying to shoot the others down. Reaper Cruiser and Carriers fired upon attacking Turian ships as they attempted to close in to use their Thanix cannons.

"Whoa!" Ardulus gripped her chair and shouted, "Full speed forward! Get us to the Capital, Lieutenant!" she watched as two Reapers, a Carrier and Cruiser slowly moved to intercept their course, apparently trying to stop the new, unknown ship from reaching the planet. Ardulus smirked.

"Ma'am! We have two Reapers in the way and MAC gun is hot, should we fire?" asked her weapons station operator, Second Lieutenant Hikawa.

Ardulus shook her head, "We'll need the cannon to strafe the Reaper on the surface, so we can't use that. I have another idea," she grinned. "Power up forward shields and get us to ramming speed!" she ordered.

"Ma'am?"

"You heard me." Ardulus said, more serious.

Seth frowned then said. "You think this will work?"

"I've done crazier," Ardulus shrugged her shoulders. The ship began to accelerate and close the distance between the two Reapers. Their backs spread and revealed the two glowing red eyes of their main guns. The heated red, preparing to fire. Ardulus smirked.

"Three seconds to impact," Seth stated simply.

The bridge crew braced themselves. Ardulus grinned and strapped herself in and shouted. "Out of our way you oversized cockroaches!"

The _Spirit_'s forward shields took two slashes from the main guns and her shields flared, shimmered and then settled at sixty percent strength. They charged their guns again, but then started to move to the side when they realized the _Spirit_ hadn't altered its course, the carrier was slower then the cruiser. It spread its legs and the _Spirit_ impacted it head on,

Both ships shields flared brightly. But the Reaper's kinetic barriers fell and the hull of it bent, screeched with strain and sheered and split as the nose of the human ship forced its way through, then the carrier broke apart from the forces. The Cruiser had moved quicker and got nicked on the side, making its shields flare but not fall.

"Hah!" Ardulus grinned and opened the rear camera. "Seth, target that son of a bitch with some Thanix missiles! Give it a nice going away present!" she barked. Her expression turned serious.

"At once, ma'am," Seth replied.

A second later two dozen Thanix missiles fired from their missile pods and streaked towards the Reaper. Ardulus watched on the camera as the Reaper shot down five of the missiles before the other dozen or so landed their shots. It's shields flared then fell. Seven other missiles struck its back, the hull heated white then melted away and explosions bloomed outward with bits of superheated steel into vacuum. The Reaper wasn't out, but it sure as hell wouldn't be trying to follow them with that much damage.

"Slow us down, Lieutenant," Ardulus ordered as she relaxed. "Shield status?"

"No permanent damage, shields held at nine percent," Seth stated. "Very balsy move, if I do say so."

Ardulus bowed her head, "Thank you, thank you. I'm here all through the war," she said with a chuckle. "Now, prep the Spartans to drop, they have twenty four seconds before we're over the drop zone." She said, leaning back into her chair.

"Yes, Captain." Seth disappeared.

* * *

**SSV-**_**Spirit of Fire**_**. en route the Palavan Capital. 0812 Hours.  
**Inside the drop bay sat ninety-eight Spartans in full MJOLNIR armor, each was checking over their gear, chatting with their teammates or just outright being lazy as they waited for the word to go. For Corporal Adrien-007 of Theta Company, she was content to just sit and wait. Her Banshee was in working order, no need to check it like a nervous chipmunk before the drop. This was crazy in all the sense of the word, but after running the process through her head she declared it was sound so long as everyone stuck to the procedure of landing a drop from a moving Dreadnought as it strafed a target in a highly populated area.

Yeah, sound.

She sighed, her helmet sat at her side and she ran a hand through her dark hair. Her angular face shone back at her from the sheen on her gauntlet, she flexed her fingers and lifted her head when the AI, Seth, spoke.

"_Attention, Spartans. Pleasant news! We're exiting slipspace now and are joining the battle of Palavan!_" Seth's tone was absolutely giddy. "_I suggest you all load into your tubes and prepare to drop, it's going to be a bit bumpy_!"

Adrien honestly believed the AI was insane, or was programmed to be creepily cheery when approaching combat situations. Either way it freaked her out a bit, but no time for that now. They had their orders. Standing and setting herself inside. The hatch sealed her inside in darkness. She closed her eyes and waited.

Seven seconds ticked by. Then twelve and finally Seth's voice broadcast over their com systems, "_Spartan Theta Company, Mission briefing time_." Adriend rolled her eyes at the same cheery tone, "_Once you touch down. Gamma, Sierra and Texas teams are the secure this generator_…" Her visor turned into a tactical map of the city. A outline of the teams objective appeared on the map, "_From there. You are to hold it_."

Three teams, twelve Spartans total to secure a generator. Not too bad for odds.

"_Delta, Alpha and Helix have this one._" Another blip, then two more appeared. "_Lima, Kilo and Zero team has the first. Elliot, Sigma and Trinity teams have the second,_" Seth paused. Then four more NAV points appeared on the map. "_Charlie, Onyx, Oscar, Sapphire and Orion teams. This is the Turian High Command center, it's currently under enemy occupation and your mission is to retake it and hold it down until it can be reinforced. There we can mount a proper defense of the planet_."

Oynx Team, that was Adrien's team. So, they were taking the capital? It surprised her that the capital had fallen at all. The Turian military was famous for its tough discipline and even tougher soldiers. She only half listened to the remaining briefing. She opened a link to Nathan-233, the Team's leader.

"What you think?" She asked.

"_Sounds like a walk through hell,_" He replied gruffly. "_Just stay on mission, Adrien. No chit-chat_," the channel closed and she frowned. There was a subtle increase in the outside temperature followed by a just as sudden decrease. They had broken the atmosphere. A red light blinked on over her head. Her Banshee was magnetically attached to her back, she counted four thermal magazines on her "belt" and two grenades at her hip.

She was locked and loaded.

The light turned yellow. She opened her eyes and a voice over her com. "_See you on the down side._" It was Warren-071. Their marksman and explosives specialist.

"Yeah."

The light winked green. The floor beneath her hissed open and she dropped into open sky at fifteen thousand feet at the air along with two-hundred and ninety-eight Spartans, they spread their arms to slow their descent speed. Grouped up into their teams as the Spirit sped downwards the city below and disappeared past the clouds.

Adrien felt her insides churn. Free-fall wasn't her idea of a hot drop. Soon, the rest of Onyx formed up Nathan, he spearheaded their V formation and soon they all flew in formation.

"_All teams, break off to your objectives now! Remember people, first time is always the most jittery_!" Theta's commander, Strike Commander Micheal-003, spoke. "_And try not to be turned into paste, okay_?"

"_I make no promises, Striker_!" Connor's voice chimed in. On Adrien's HUD dozens of green lights winked affirmatives. She narrowed her eyes and soon the flying Spartans broke the cloud covering. They all stared at the scene below them.

The Turian Capital city was burning. The streets were littered with wreckages of civilian and military vehicles alike, buildings were toppled and fires raged across the whole of the area. It could have been Hell itself they were dropping into from the looks of it. Onyx veered off towards the High Command center, which was only half the building it was supposed to be. One section looked like it had taken a direct hit from a Reaper's main gun, probably had too.

She glanced to the side in time to see the Spirit fire four rounds from its MAC cannon before pulling up and away from the city to rejoin the fleets in orbit to provide firing support. Their target barely had time to look up before it was pounded into the ground by four individual rounds, in fact. The first round had shattered its shields and the second finished it. The other two were just for overkill.

Her altimeter read two hundred feet. Her suit activated the core on her back, it spun to life and soon she felt the g-forces leave her body and the hissing of the wind stopped. She angled her feet first and then her front, back and calve jets burned a quick boost.

Her descent speed dropped from over three-hundred KPH to under fifty. She waited until twenty feet, they burned again and hit the ground at twenty KPH in a crouch, the core deactivated and she stood up. She landed it perfectly.

"_Onyx team. Proceed to objective, radio silence from here on our unless urgent, double time it. Spartans_!" Nathan barked and closed the channel.

Adrien grabbed her Banshee and shouldered it. She glanced to her left to see Darius jump from a three story building to the next one across the street. He turned to her upon landing, waved and then shot towards their objective. Adrien hefted her rifle and sprinted forward. Gunfire echoed across the city as did explosions.

She leapt over a destroyed car and fired when several Husks wondered into her street. They screeched and fell over in the hail of rounds, any that didn't tried to give chase. But at her speed they'd need a vehicle to catch her, her legs pumped hard and she felt as if it were nothing more than a jog thanks to the MJOLNIR armor.

She leapt to the side when the sound of heavy machinegun fire rang out into the air. The spot she'd been at exploded into large puffs of sparks and metal. She frowned, checked her motion tracker and saw three tangos trying to circle around to her right while the machine gun kept her pinned behind the buildings corner.

Warren's light winked green.

A shot cracked. The shooting stopped.

Adrien smiled behind her visor and turned the corner then broke into another sprint. She briefly spotted Warren on the rooftops like Darius, apparently taking advantage of the jump jets on their armor. She looked down the street, narrowing her eyes she zoomed to twelve times.

A clearing around the base that was blockaded by a few dozen Cannibals, she saw what looked like a cyborg Turian commanding them and several larger creatures that had Turian heads but massive bodies with huge vicious claws. She frowned and gripped her Banshee. It read _48 _ammunition.

Onyx's lights all winked yellow. They saw the blockade.

"_All teams, hold position._" Nathan's voice was steel.

Adrien slowed her run and moved off to the side into one of the structures. She soon joined Onyx on the four story roof of a building. Each lay prone near the edge and stared down at the enemy encampment. "Heavy machine guns mounted positions inside the Command center," Nathan muttered. "And hundred and four tangos."

"Hundred and seven, look on the roof," Warren reported. He was looking through the scope of his Rapier sniper rifle.

The rest of Onyx followed his instructions and sure enough, there were two more commander units. Now dubbed Marauders, sitting on the roof with elongated rifles. "Snipers," Nathan said.

"Yeah, so, what's our plan?" Warren asked.

Nathan didn't reply for a few moments. "Sapphire and Orion are going to provide blanketing fire from the adjacent roof tops on the other side of the square. The rest of us will move in when the enemy is focused, shoot and move. But make it to the Command center above all else, if we can take it from the inside those mounted guns will be very useful in securing the outer area." He explained, "Understood?"

All lights winked green.

Sapphire and Orion would be taking the brunt of this enemy force? Even for Spartans and their armor this was a little insane. But then again, this was a war and they all knew the stakes. Shepard had told what the Reapers wanted and would do if they won.

"It's starting." Nathan said.

The reddened sky briefly flashed blue and yellow as a massive cloud of smoke and ash floated into the air across their position of the square. The explosion usually caused by a M31-MEDUSA launcher. The forces below them turned and most began to rush towards the disturbance as gunfire echoed in the distance along with the occasional explosion.

"Sapphire and Orion are engaged," Nathan stated the obvious. "Snipers, take your shots. Everyone else, prepare to fire." his Banshee came up and targeted one of the commanding units.

Warren's Rapier sounded off. Then three more shots rang out. The snipers on the roof shields fell, then they exploded into chunks as their chests were torn apart from the heavy snipers. They were down. Onyx and the remaining teams opened fire on the ground forces remaining. Cannibals took rounds to the chest and arms, but roared and raised their weapons. They returned fire.

Adrien let loose three second bursts of fire. Her shields took two scrapes and a full hit, they drained to seventy. She and the others leapt to their feet and off the building, she landed on a speeder and its frame bent and groaned from the impact. She sprinted forward with them still firing.

A cannibal tracked her and then lost its head when Warren sniped it. She reloaded quickly.

A marauder screeched from behind cover and aimed at her., A burst of fire from its weapon drained her shields to nothing and a round struck her chest, the metal plating dented but she kept her pace and returned fire. It's shields took the brunt of her rounds but failed as well. It went back into cover.

The machine gunners on the second and third floor turned their forces and fired. Three fell off their guns when the snipers were through with their third volley of fire. A blip appeared on her radar and she turned in time to see one of the giant Brute like creatures swat her into the air, her shields fell on impact with the ground and her vision swam with black dots.

The creature roared and turned to two other Spartans who pelted it with AR fire. It lashed out with speed that surprised them and caught one in the side. Sending him into the side of a speeder like a rag doll, Adrien forced herself up and shook her head to clear it. The other Spartan leapt over the monster, landed on its back and primed a grenade.

He punched it into its back then leapt off.

The grenade detonated and deformed its back further. To Adrien's horror the creature took two steps towards her, then fell motionless on the ground.

Three more jumped from the second floor and roared. They charged to meet the Spartans head on.

"Combine fire!" Nathan ordered. Banshees fired in long automatic bursts as they concentrated on one creature at a time while attempting to keep distance from the other two, the first roared in anger as if it didn't feel their rounds and lifted a speeder wreckage, then tossed it.

The wreckage flew past its intended target. Nathan, and the Spartan returned fire. A spray of rounds caught its face and the creature reeled back in anger, it growled. Adrien landed from a jump, crouched and levelled her rifle on its face. She took in a breathe and fired three rounds. All three connected and it turned to her, she primed a grenade as it charged her.

It closed and ducked under its heavy swipe. Brought her fist with the grenade up and into its "skull" before jumping back and covered shielding herself. The grenade exploded and bits of tech mixed with bone showered her shields harmlessly.

"Kyle!" A female Spartan cried out. Adrien followd her gaze and saw another Spartan, Kyle-217, was being ragged around by his arm by one of the larger creatures that had gotten a hold of him. The Spartan raised his Banshee and fired into its face at point blank, mutilating it.

It roared and tossed him away where he flipped mid air and landed and skidded to a halt on his feet. The arm that was grabbed was limp at his side, likely dislocated. But he was alive and the creature was even uglier then before. Also more pissed, since it tore a door from one of the speeders nearby and tossed it like a disk at the Spartan.

Kyle jumped back and curled his legs. It flew clean under him and he hit the ground and shot forward firing. Nathan and Jordan opened fire on the same Brute. It roared, then toppled. Adrien turned and saw the third was already engaged by three other Spartans. They leapt and weaved around it as if dancing. She knew they wouldn't make Kyle's mistake and underestimate it.

While those three dealt with the remaining brute. The rest of them proceed to the building's main entrance. Which was locked.

"Sam, get Kyle's arm fixed," Nathan ordered before switching to their tech expert. Valerie-047, a member of Green team, who had been folded into Oscar team until Shepard and James returned. She kneeled, brought her Omni-Tool and began to hack the doors open.

A moment passed. Then. "Got it." the doors hissed open to reveal a small, blinking red circular device. An explosive. Adrien's vision was blinded as white light flooded her visor, even at foll polarization it was still hard to look at, the light died down and Valerie was gone. Only thing left was a blackened floor and melted doorway. Those were closest to the door had their shields down and they slowly recharged.

No one said anything until Nathan spoke, "Be careful from now on," he didn't sound bothered. But everyone felt it, one of their own had just been snuffed out in the blink of an eye. They proceeded into the building into a long hallway. Stairs to the right and a lobby like area to the left of them.

"Onyx, we're going to third floor to secure the communications hub. Oscar, you secure this floor and Charlie. You get the second, lucky you." Nathan muttered into the com.

"More enemy activity there."

"Yeah, lucky us." Charlie's leader, Sarah-300, muttered and her team proceeded up the stairs followed by Onyx. They kept their eyes open for anymore explosives like the one that had claimed Valerie all the while.

They came to the second floor and listened. Sounds of activity were on the other side and Sarah said to her team, "Weapons free." she opened the door and they slipped through shooting. The doors closed and the gunfire continued even as Onyx proceeded to the third floor, the doors had been blown open and they stepped inside.

It was clear.

Moving over to one of the doors, it hissed open and reveal Turians, all dead. Dark pools of blood gathered around their bodies, but in the center of the room was a very familiar device. "I have Dragon's Teeth," Adrien said into her com.

"_Understood_," Nathan replied. "_Same here_."

"_Yeah, hold on_," there was a bout of gunfire that echoed in her headset and outside the room. "_Clear now, poor bastard_."

A heartbeat passed and Sarah's voice came through the com. "_This is Charlie, second floor clear and Orion and Sapphire reports the enemy in full retreat. They're taking the stragglers now_."

"_Oscar here, first floor is clear. No survivors_." reported Oscar's leader.

After a quick sweep of the small floor Onyx declared it clear and moved over to the communications room. It was empty and all the equipment appeared to be untouched, Adrian got to work on getting Turian communications back up and running. Her fingers moved over the keys swiftly and with purpose. Frowning in concentration she paused once, then tapped another and soon Turian reports flooded in.

She opened all channels. "Attention all Turian ground forces, we've secure the high command Center, all nearby forces make best speed. Something tells me they'll want this place back badly," Adrien said.

Affirmatives came through clearly and she nodded to Nathan.

"Spirit of Fire, do you read me?" He asked, using the long range com.

"_This is the Spirit of Fire, since I'm talking to you, Spartan_." Captain Ardulus said, "_I assume your mission to take the Command center worked and you've restored communications_?"

"Yes, ma'am, we've taken a casualty, but we've secured the objective and Turian forces are en route to reinforce our position, any word from the rest of Theta?"

"_All teams have reported in, Their generators are under assault. But not in immediate danger, seems when the Reaper went down all nearby enemy ground troops suffered a small… malfunction_," Ardulus replied. "_Also, sorry for your loss, Spartan. But get comfortable, you're going to be down there for awhile_."

"How are things in space?"

"_Peachy, I mean, Turians are getting their asses kicked and we're running out of MAC rounds to shoot at these bastards, but we're good so far, I've contacted Alliance Headquarters and they're sending the sixth fleet to reinforce us. ETA is four hours." _Ardulus explained, then shouted. "_Fire the MAC!_"

Static, then. "_Hah! That makes ten kills! I want that capital ship trying to break away finished off! No need to let it bleed_."

Nathan waited until Ardulus' voice came back. "_Also, four klicks away from you is memorial sqaure, four miles of grassland used for military parades, I want that area secured so I land this tub groundside and deploy our marines and armor_!"

Nathan nodded and glanced at his team. "Understood, I'll relay the orders to Micheal when he arrives, ma'am,"

"_Good man, Captain Ardulus ou-Whoo! Two for one, mother_-"

Nathan closed the com and ended the Captain's cheer. "Alright, you heard the Captain, bunker down! Reposition those machine emplacements and lets make this place a bit more home-like!" he ordered. "Go, go, go!"

The teams hopped to their duties.

* * *

**SSV-**_**Upon Reach**_**. En route to the Citadel, 1000 Hours.  
**Shepard stepped out of the com room with a heavy sigh. Hackett wasn't pleased with how the Mars mission had ended, but he couldn't dwell on it either. The council had made a decision and as it turns out they wanted Krogan support for the Turians along with what remained of the Batarian fleets. With that in mind Hackett proposed that envoys from each species meet on the Reach to discuss their terms for alliances.

So, now he was playing peace keeper between a bunch of politicians while dealing with the animosity that came with having a Krogan, Turian and Salarian in the same room. Yeah, this would be fun like a ride through Hell without his armor.

Oh, not to mention one of his best friends was sitting in the med lab with a stab wound through her abdomen. Shepard sighed again and stepped onto the elevator, he hadn't had time to visit Liara since they got back. So he was going to now while they were headed to drop her off at Huearta Memorial Hospital on the Citadel before they went off to play neutral ground.

But something else weighed heavy on Shepard's mind. Cerberus apparently had access to Slipspace drives now too. And a ship that dwarfed the Reach. In fact, the ship EDI described dwarfed every ship in the galaxy if she right about its size.

"How can something be twenty four kilometres?" he whispered softly to himself. The doors opened and he walked towards the medical bay. Personnel saluted him on his way there and he gave them courteous nods in return before moving on to his destination. Stopping outside he took a breath and entered the bay.

Liara was sitting up, her clothing had been removed from her upper body and revealed her shapely figure, covered only by a simple white garment that passed for a bra among Asari. Which didn't mean much if what Shepard was seeing was any account, he looked to the size and was thankful he had his armor.

"Liara," he said. Moving to her table. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Liara replied and looked to the medical attendant, "Will that be all?"

"Yes," The medical chief, Catherine Mason, replied. "No strenuous activity for the next day. Might reopen the wound internally. Then you'll be back here again, now, I'm going to get a sample of the poison on this blade." she turned and marched off into another section of the med bay.

Poison? Shepard frowned but didn't question it. "That's good, I was worried about you."

Liara looked up to him and smiled. "Do not worry about me, Shepard. I am stronger than I would appear," she stared and stretched her arms out before she started to redress her upper body. "What about Ashley? Is she alright?"

"Yes, she's fine. She chased off the assassin," Shepard nodded. "What can you tell me about her, anyways?"

"The assassin?" Liara paused. "She was well trained, faster than any human I've ever seen. She had technology I've never seen as well, she could produce a barrier with her palm, which doubled as an offensive weapon." she frowned and sighed, "I'm sending my agents out to try and find more. But if she's with Cerberus, it won't be much."

"I understand," Shepard replied simply. He knew she wouldn't find much about the assassin, Cerberus hid its information well, even from the new Shadow Broker that was Liara T'soni. "Just glad you pulled through."

"Like I said, I'm stronger then I look," Liara stood off the bed and said, "What about the data?"

"EDI is translating it now. She says she'll need two hours to make sense of it all. Well, the bits we got anyways, Cerberus has the complete file." The Commander sighed again for the umpteenth time that day. " The mission was only partially successful. But at least we got some data, right?"

"Yes," Liara nodded and they both left the medical bay. "Now, what is with the armor? And you and Lieutenant Vega's increased physical height?" she asked, turning to him with a firm stare mixed with curiosity.

Shepard thought about answering her, technically the Spartan Program was to remain a secret. But this was Liara and she would learn about it sooner or later, so. He looked to her and said, "It's a special program from the Alliance…"

He dove into the tale of the SPARTAN-IV program.

By the time he had finished his explanation they had found their way into the crew quarters. Liara sat down and cracked her neck. "I am amazed the Alliance has come so far… if your story is correct, then… why keep this technology from the rest of the galaxy?" she asked with a frown.

"Because, Liara." Shepard started, "The council would have limits placed on us. And those limits would hinder us in times of need, like now… our fleets could have been twice as large if the Council didn't limit our military power. Humanity will never be caught off guard for something like this ever again, we're tired of it."

Liara opened her mouth. But another voice broke into their conversation, "You might want to explain why Cerberus has this stuff too, slipspace?" Ashley stalked over to Shepard and glared. "How the hell did they get something like with a ship that huge?"

"Ashley," Shepard looked to his subordinate. "Not only are you questioning a superior officer about matters of Intelligence that is way above our heads. But your also asking questions with a tone that implies you're accusing me." he stood and stared down at her. "But I'll answer your question. Back on Amaterasu several unknown alien forces attacked the colony. They used technology like that too, they had plasma weapons that we've never seen."

He narrowed his eyes. "After the mission was complete, Cerberus showed up before the Alliance could and took as much samples of the tech as they could. Then they left with a captured Spartan to study and no doubt this studying brought that assassin you faced into the conflict because the way it sounds she was trained and augmented like one." he sat back down and spat, "You gonna blame me for that too?"

Ashley glared heatedly. Turned and walked away, whispering. "What happened to us, Shepard?"

"I died, came back to save humanity a second time after saving it once before, in both accounts. Do you know who believed me? Do you know who gave me the resources and soldiers I needed to fight the Collectors? I'll tell you it sure as Hell wasn't the Alliance, or the Council." He glared at her. "It was Cerberus, so well you may hate them. I can say this. They. Get. Results."

"As brutal as their methods are, Ashley. They were doing something good in their line of bad," Shepard quieted his tone and sighed. "And then you… hated me for working with them, when no one else would help me with the Collectors. They did, Ashley. Can you really blame me for working with them?"

She turned over her shoulder. Eyes glistening, then she left the room. Liara shifted and looked to Shepard, "She will be alright…" she said.

"I know. It's just…" He removed his helmet and placed it on the bed next to him. "I want her to look at me like she used to… when we were after Saren, she used to admire me… she loved me." he looked to Liara. "Now… it's just suspicion and weary glances."

Liara gave a saddened sigh and moved to hug Shepard, made uncomfortable by the armor he wore. But she endured it and gingerly, he returned the warm gesture. "I can't imagine what its like for you, Shepard. The galaxy has been on your shoulders twice."

"It's hard," he muttered. "But I have people like you helping me along."

"I'll be here as long as you need me, Shepard."

"I know," Shepard closed his eyes. "Thanks, Liara."

* * *

**End of chapter 24**

**There it is, Chapter 24! Sorry for those who don't really like the whole "OC" part of the story with Theta. Just it's hard to cover an entire war as its happening with just only focusing on Shepard. Y'know? So, you'll see a bit more of Adrien from this point on. And other Spartans as the war rages. Now, for those who have questions about Cerberus, I'm taking a different path with them then in the third game.**

**Because Cerberus, to me, is not an "evil" organization, more so just extreme in their methods to ensure they protect what they love. In this case, humanity. They'll be playing the role as the "semi badguy" as the story goes along and their plans unfold. I just felt they always demonized Cerberus too much. If people don't agree with this path for Cerberus, then I'm sorry. But its integral to the overall plot of things.**

**Anyways! If you would all be so kind as to leave a review. I'd be most grateful!**


	26. Enemy Advances

**In Infinitum**

**Chapter 25  
Enemy Advances**

**Palavan, Cipritine. 1910 Hours.  
**Adrien ducked low as a stream of rounds passed over her cover. An explosion rocked the building and a Spartan shouted. "_Perimeter breach in the northern sector_!" gunfire sounded through the com line.

"Damnit, they've been pushing hard all damn morning," Nathan said from beside her. He held out his hand.

Adrien tossed him a thermal magazine and he loaded his Banshee. "I know, how's the generator situation looking?"

"They're all engaged," he replied simply before leaning from his cover and firing at a pair of advancing Cannibals. They went down with the spray of rounds. He ducked back down and took a breath.

It had been mostly quiet all that night and that should have been their first warning to this assault. Theta and all nearby Turian and Alliance forces had heavily reinforced the generator complexes and headquarters after the Spirit had deployed its marine contingents along with all its armor. They were still sorting their positions out when the sun had started to come up and suddenly hundreds of Husks had rushed the headquarters in one large wave.

As they were engaging that front the western perimeter reported a ten Reaper Strike teams of Cannibals and Marauders engaging them with Harvester air support. Then the other fronts reported heavy Brute activity and have been out of contact since. All through the morning they had been switching positions and burning through ammunition.

Warren's light winked red.

Adrien and Nathan jumped away from their large window vantage point in time to avoid the strafing run from a Harvester as it flew back. It heavy auto cannons left hand sized scorch marks along the wall where it impacted.

Gunfire was a constant. As were the screams and roars of Reaper grounds troops and the pained screams allies as they were overwhelmed. It was Hell.

Darius was across the room from them, sporting a blackened hole through his chest the size of a finger and his right arms armor had been melted from the bicep down from an explosive charge that a Marauder had tossed through the window. Adrien looked away, it was because he had tossed her away that she had survived. At the cost of his life.

She should feel honoured. But all she felt was useless, she should have been able to protect herself. "Head in the fight, Adrien." Nathan said as he hefted her up by her hand and they moved back into their position as three Turian Gunships streaked back with their guns in a strafing run over the two dozen Cannibals pushing forward.

Most of the advancing foes were down. Others were getting back up and the combined Spartan/Turian/Alliance forces mowed them down before refocusing on the Husks that were clawing their way over their makeshift barriers of wreckage and Combat barriers. They were quickly dispatched. But each soldier was beginning to notice a distinct lack of ammunition as time went on during this long conflict.

Reaper ground troops didn't drop thermal clips like normal weapons and their weapons didn't work for them at all. Scavenging ammo from dead allies was all there was along with sharing as needed.

"_Harvester group coming in carrying Brutes_!" Warren shouted over the com as two shots rang out over his side. Then he added, "_Can't stop em! Prep for big partiers_!"

Adrien peaked out of her cover and watched as four Harvesters flew down while gripping a Brute in their legs. The large monsters roared and were let go the moment they were over the command center, they hit the roof and rushed at the few soldiers stationed topside.

That included Warren and the snipers from Oscar, Sapphire and Orion were up there as well. She hoped they could handle the four Brutes. The Harvesters turned back around for a strafing run… then were shot down by two MEDUSA missiles.

That was one headache down, she supposed as she fired upon three Cannibals who were trying to dig in behind a building corner across the street. She took down one and her shields took a small beating as they returned accurate fire.

That had also changed, the Cannibals and all Reaper ground forces had been far more efficient in their tactics and overall accuracy since this morning as well. Why? She couldn't figure that out and it bugged her to high Heaven.

"_This is Indigo Team! Generator four is under heavy assault, requesting backup ASAP, we're going to get overrun at this rate_!"

Adrien looked to Nathan. "If one of those generators fall we could lose two or three of the cannons." Which meant a large opening for the Reapers to pour into the city from the air.

"I know…"

"_This is Zulu. Don't worry Indigo, we and Foxtrot are en route to your location with air support_," there was a pause for a chuckle. "_You better remember this shit at Christmas, Varone_."

"_Yeah, yeah, just get here_." some gunfire, "_Close that damn door and plant a charge_!"

The com closed. "How do you think its going upstairs?" Adrien asked.

"Considering we're not overrun yet? I'd say only barely good." Nathan replied and ejected his magazine, then sighed. "I'm out."

"Me too," Her Banshee counter read empty.

"Damn," Nathan drew his predator and keyed the com. "This is Onyx one and two, we're out of ammo and down to our sidearms. We need a runner up here with some spare thermal mags." he said and waited.

"_Roger that, we have an Alliance armored convoy making its way to our position. Turns out we're being reinforced_," there was a crackle of static before Warren spoke again. "_Brutes are down, Turians suffered a few casualties and Marcus is bleeding badly. Medic is trying to stabilize him now_."

That information didn't solve their ammunition problem at the moment. But it was still good news at any rate during this hellish siege. A Turian shouted incoming before he and two others leapt away from the large hole in the wall that had been caused by a stray MEDUSA missile. The room was flooded with a bright flash as the Reaper styled grenade detonated.

When it died down two more Harvesters stopped next to the opening while four more flew in on strafing runs to keep attention away from the strike team of Marauders jumped from the Harvesters into the room. They raised their weapons and opened fire on the nearby Turians who were still getting their bearings.

Adrien and Nathan fired their Predators at the five new targets. One went down under the hail of fire while the other four jumped nimbly behind a turned over desk, a moment later a grenade flew over and landed beside then two Spartans.

They leapt as the grenade detonated. The pressure wave shook Adrien internally and she flew into the wall by the door, leaving a dent in the once smooth metal surface.

Nathan corrected himself as he slid across the floor and got to his feet. He rushed forward and checked his shields, they were still at half strength. Good, he'd need them. The Marauders opened fire on the rushing opponent and their shots pinged off his shields.

His shields blinked red and faded as he ducked low and gripped the Turian made assault rifle and levelled it with the marauders. He held the trigger down and sprayed their position with fire, they ducked low and waited for a pause.

"We have a breach on the third level! Strike team-" his words stopped when he glanced at the corner of his eye. He was right in the firing angle of one of the Harvesters that had unloaded the marauders.

"Shit." he cursed.

They opened fire and without his shields the heavy machinegun rounds pinged off his armor. Other penetrated the dense alloy. He spun to face them as a round tore through his chest and knocked the wind from him. He held the trigger down and continued to fire at the Harvester.

The large flying creature took a shot to the eye, screeched and flew off when two missiles streaked by and reduced it to scrap. Nathan turned back to the Marauders and they took opened fire. He tasted blood and flew back with the impact of their combined fire.

Adrien's vision focused then blurred again, She bordered on the brink of unconsciousness. She witnessed Nathan rushing the enemy then the Harvester firing on him and then him hitting the floor. She blinked and opened her mouth, but she was so tired and her muscles ached with each attempt to move them.

Nathan's biosigns flatlined.

Her world fell into darkness.

* * *

"Impact on the forward shields. They're down to seven percent," Seth reported as the Spirit of Fire rocked again and an alarm blared. "Deck two, area B has been penetrated. We're venting atmosphere and electrical fires spreading… contained." The AI sighed and looked to Ardulus. "We should pull back."

"That will leave this flank vulnerable, Damnit, "Ardulus growled as she watched the four Reapers manoeuvre to the right to try and move out of the way of the Spirit's MAC. "And I will not let those bastards know they got the better of Captain Ardulus!" she narrowed her eyes. "Tell the _Mercury_ and _Savior_ to meet target those cruisers. This formation is not breaking!"

"At once, ma'am," Seth replied simply and then blinked once. "I'm reading an anomaly. Slipspace transition behind the Reaper forces…" he paused and frowned. "Silhouette does not match the _Reach _or _Normandy_."

That was wrong. No other vessel in the galaxy had a slipspace Shaw-Fujikawa engine, unless the Alliance had been holding out on them with how many ships actually possessed the technology to jump into Slipspace?

The space behind the two Reapers warped, tore apart and reveal the purple-pink ripples of Slipspace. And out appeared the massive nose of a bulbous head followed by the mid and finally full size of the behemoth. The hull was a reflective black with stripes of white, blue and gold. It was huge! It dwarfed every ship in the known galaxy, even a Reaper Flagship such as Harbinger wasn't as large.

"Scans indicate it's length at twenty-four kilometres, height of six. The head is four in width, the rear section is seven across, quite impressive." Seth reported as he watched the ship on the view screen. "Oh, and the Cerberus insignia is most alarming."

The viewer magnified to a point on the nose and highlighted the standard Cerberus insignia.

Ardulus growled. "Damnit, get ready to fight two enemies!" she ordered her crew. This was bad, that ship was insanely huge. Where did the even assemble that thing? No dock on any planet could construct that in secret.

"Ma'am, the Cerberus vessel's energy readings are spiking," Seth stated. Pinpoints of red appeared along the massive Cerberus ship. They glowed white hot then lanced outwards at blind-sided Reapers.

Each bolt of energy glowed white and were the size of a fighter. They struck the Reapers and their shields flashed before falling. The remaining fifteen rounds of energy impacted their intended targets. Ardulus watched in awed fear as the bolts melted into the Reaper's hulls a few feet then exploded into a flash of electric blue.

The Reapers were reduced to scrap.

"Reaper forces have taken note of our savior, they're moving to engage the Cerberus Dreadnought," The AI explained as more then half the Reaper fleet turned and shot towards the massive vessel.

The Cerberus vessel started to roll to reveal its under belly. A circular purple "eye" started to glow brightly as energy gathered inside it.

"Detecting massive energy readings from that central eye," Seth replied with just the barest hint of awe in his otherwise cool tone. "Their main gun, perhaps?"

Before Ardulus could reply the Cerberus vessel fired a stream of energy towards the approaching Reapers fleet.

The beam approached a Carrier. But it didn't so much as strike as it cut. The Reaper's shields stopped the beam for a brief moment before falling and powerful beam sliced it clean through before it moved to the side and bisected it like a surgical laser.

The Reaper fleet broke apart as the beam sliced through four more that were too close to the first to fall. They charged and fired their main guns, angry red beams slashed across the behemoth's shields. Which flared brightly, then cooled and settled under the combined fire of roughly seventeen Reapers.

"Incredible," Seth muttered from his spot. "Those shield systems are reminiscent of Cyclonic barriers, but they're modified somehow… These readings and the damage output of the Reaper's weapons…" he blinked. "My word! The amount of power they'd need to sustain that sort of shielding is massive!"

"Ya think?" Ardulus growled from her seat. She and the other ships in the defense fleet didn't move, no. They stayed still and watched as Cerberus handed the Reapers their rear ends extra crispy. "They just destroyed four reapers in a single shot! And four more before that with a single salvo of whatever those weapons are!"

"Plasma." Seth added. "They're plasma, very huge amount of plasma. If I had to guess the rounds are encased in a magnetic field to contain their power until they impact a target then they detonate." he paused and his form faded slightly. "Most impressive."

"In English, Seth?"

"If they turn on us. We're boned, Captain." Seth said flatly.

Ardulus frowned. "Just say that then!"

The Reaper fleet sustained three more casualties before they broke off and retreated away from the planet at top speed, the Cerberus vessel didn't pursue, it corrected itself and simply floated in space like a triumphant wolf who frightened off other predators.

Then it hailed the Spirit.

"Answer it," Ardulus muttered, straightening her hair and uniform before the image of a female captain appeared on her screen. "What do you want?"

The female's steely gray eyes focused on Ardulus and she replied, "_That's gratitude for saving you and likely saving Palavan too_," her voice was level and professional. "_I'm Captain Carossa of the Cerberus Dreadnought, Legend_," she said as she bowed her head. "_I've been ordered personally by the Illusive Man to deliver a message to you_."

"What's the message about?" Ardulus asked. She glanced at Seth, who nodded. Good, Seth had hailed their entire formation to target the Cerberus Dreadnought. Legend, what a name for a ship of that size. Then again, Ardulus found it fitting.

"_Earth is about to come under major Reaper attack_."

Ardulus blinked once, then twice and finally. "That's funny. Because last I checked, the Reapers hadn't even probed Sol since this war started. What makes you thin-"

"_We know they're going to attack. A massive Reaper invasion fleet has been amassing in secret at the edge of the system_." Carossa growled and stood. "_The reason I was told to deliver this message is because the com buoys that connect Sol to the rest of the galaxy have been… disabled_."

"And I'm just supposed to believe you?" Ardulus raised a brow.

"_You will if you don't want Earth to burn_."

Ardulus considered it. She had to, they couldn't win against that ship. Well, they might but it would be too costly with how many ships they'd lost in the last few hours that if they did win. And that was a seriously big if, they'd be too weak to repel another Reaper assault. It also made sense, Cerberus was a pack of anti-alien, hate filled extremists. But the goal of it had always been clear. Humanity's dominance and losing Earth wouldn't help that goal at all.

"Say for a second I believe you," began Ardulus as she glared heatedly at the other Captain. "How did you know? And I want the truth."

"Because its one of our agents who's indoctrinated! He's the one letting the Reapers through undetected and he's the one who should have been commanding the Spirit!"

Ardulus' eyes widened. "Lieutenant, get me a com to Alliance frigate Normandy! We're going to need Alpha team!"

Cerberus wasn't lying. Earth was about to get hit.

* * *

**Alliance Headquarters, Earth. 2010 Hours.  
**Admiral Benjamin Terrence sat inside his large office behind his desk that overlooked most of the city with its generous view. His back was the to the window however as he looked over the reports that had been sent in from Omega team. They had been deployed deep behind enemy lines and out of contact for the last day and a half. Their report explained they had been out of contact due to communication being impossible due to their situation inside Batarian space.

But they also said their objectives had been completed. The Reaper processing stations across one of their primary colonies were destroyed, that however left a difficult situation of extraction for Omega. They assured Terrence that they would find a way but the Admiral still worried.

Pushing those worries aside he focused on more recent events. Palavan had been reinforced by the sixth fleet two days ago and reports that came in said they were holding the ground well enough. The space above the planet was another story, the Reapers kept reinforcing their fleets and pushing at the lines like a hang mans noose.

Shepard had also contacted him and Hackett about the negotiations. The Turians wanted Krogan support to help the fight on the ground at Palavan and the Krogan wanted a cure for the genophage as payment. That idea was a double edged sword, but it was an offer Palavan couldn't refuse, especially since the Dalatrass had been keeping it hidden that several fertile and cured Krogan females were being kept on Sur'Kesh.

Now, Shepard had been ordered to retrieve females and ensure that the Krogan and Turians get buddy-buddy within the next few days so the Alliance could relocate some of the ground forces from Palavan to Benning. Which reported heavy Reaper activity as of two hours ago. No other communications left that part of the space.

And then, there was the radio silence from Grissom Academy. A general distress beacon had been sounded and a Turian ship said it would go aid them, but something about that situation smelt bad to Terrence. So he sent Alpha Team to deal with it. He frowned and decided he knew what he was going to do about Benning.

He would put Delta Company on that mission. Normally, he would have entrusted Omega Company this mission. Omega however was currently deployed on Feros since it too had recently come under Reaper invasion three hours ago, heavy Reaper invasion. The Reapers were still trying to harvest humanity it seemed. Reports put the number of "taken" humans in the hundreds of thousands now.

But where were they taking them? The Collector base had been destroyed. So, that was a mystery, if they were making more Reapers where would they construct them? He sincerely wished Omega Team were here, but he would have to settle for the Normandy alone to try and find out where the Reapers were taking the taken humans.

It was all a major headache and can of worms waiting to happen.

Terrance's console chimed and he turned to it, "On screen," he said and straightened out. Placing the datapads on the desk.

"_Admiral, something has just been brought to our attention_," Admiral Anderson's face appeared on the holoscreen. "_We've just discovered a small… anomaly inside the system, turns out our scanning probes near the relay were feeding us looped reports_."

"Looped?" Terrence frowned.

Anderson nodded, "_Yes. They've been feeding us false intel for the last twelve hours apparently. I took the liberty of trying to find out who did it. All signs points towards someone in your division, A Captain Macavre_?"

"Macavre?" Terrence blinked, then said. "Admiral, he asked to posted inside the scout ship posted at the relay, he's been there longer then the probes have. If he's been paving the way for the Reapers. Then how come they haven't struck yet?"

"_I don't know, but I'm recalling his ship under the guise of a supply run_," the screen flickered and static distorted Anderson's voice. "_Arrest…Capt…Rence? Do…read me_?…" the channel died.

Terrence didn't like this. He switched channels to the orbiting flagship, the SSV-_Everest_. No response, just static. Again. He changed to local com channels, they were jammed too. "The Hell is this?"

Light flashed through his window then the building rumbled. He turned and looked outside. His eyes widened and he stepped back as hundreds of burning debris fell from the clouds and crashed across the city, one impacted the side of the massive structure he was in and the building shook again. He steadied himself and stared to the sky.

More and more broke the clouds and soon the sky itself reddened. He narrowed his eyes and watched in fear and awe as half the Everest broke through the clouds, its hull melted and burning as it descended into the nearby lake with a hiss of vapor and steam.

Terrence rushed out of his office and into the hall way which was bustling with activity as people scrambled. Soldiers and staff alike grabbed weapons and moved to their stations to arm the planetside defenses and mobilize the forces. They couldn't even do that now though with the communications jammed.

The Admiral turned and ran to the elevator. He had to get to the committee and ensure they were evacuated to the shelter beneath the headquarters. The building rumbled again and soon the loudest metallic roar sounded through the walls, screams from staff echoed with it as if the roar was right in his ears. Terrence glared at the floor and proceeded into the lift.

Outside in the city. Panic spread as civilians ducked for cover from the falling debris from ships in orbit. They looked upwards when the loudest screech, like metal grating against metal, echoed across the sky. Red lightning struck across the clouds and soon their worst fears made real descended from the Heavens like wrathful deities.

The Reapers had come.

A massive Reaper Flagship touched down, crushing several smaller building beneath it. Standing tall and letting out another deafening roar it announced. "I am Harbinger. And Your world is ours."

In orbit. The fleet was being torn to pieces by the combined force of Twelve hundred Reapers. Ships exploded as they were overwhelmed by the superior firepower of their foes. Carriers flew to the surface followed by capital ships. Any Alliance ships that turned to escape were merely shot in the back as they fled.

* * *

**End of chapter 25**

**That's chapter 25 and Earth smack down begins. Humanity is now going to get its stuffing kicked. Thanks you to those who reviewed and gave their thoughts on my little ficlet here. I appreciate it. Hope the story continues to prove interesting to you all as I continue it.**


	27. Illusive Man

**In Infinitum**

**Chapter 26  
Illusive Man**

**Cronos Station, Horsehead Nebula, Anadius. 2100 Hours.  
**The Illusive Man sat inside the headquarters of all of Cerberus' operations. The station Cronos, this facility housed all of the Illusive Man's personal and more secretive projects along with the key minds behind most of the technology that Cerberus was putting into production. Along with a few special guests. He tapped a key on his command chair and the holographic screens closed and allowed him to peer at the dying star near the station.

He raised his cigar, puffed it once and lowered it.

Ever since this business with the Reapers had started and Shepard's fantastic work against them and the Collectors. The galaxy as a whole was more prepared to fight them, but now the galaxy had even greater weapons to fight the reapers. These UNSC and Covenant technologies had opened doorways the Illusive wouldn't have dreamed of. Their tech didn't rely on eezo and it was lightyears more advanced than any of their creations. Least militaristically, medically? Apparently they still had the advantage in that area if what Halsey had been sending him was any indication.

The reports from the Mars mission were also very interesting. The strike team sent in to destroy the data cache from the Protheans had only been partially successful and that was still preferable to a full on failure. The Illusive Man understood now that the future of humanity didn't lay with the Reapers or the Protheans. It lay with Halsey and her technological expertise on her own universe's level of advancement. Answers to defeat the Reapers weren't in the past of their galaxy. No, the Protheans and those before them had all been destroyed.

Now? Now they had a real shot to defeat the Reapers with strategy and cunning.

But they had to do so without relying on some ancient data that didn't even save the Protheans from extinction. The relics of the past will never lead to prosperity. He understood that now and he was determined to follow this wave of technology with the help of Catherine. He puffed his cigar again and the doors to command office opened.

"Ah, Lucy! Wait up, I'm rather winded!" Evangel walked after the stoic woman into the room towards the Illusive Man. He was now one of the few people with access to the technology that Halsey provided them and Cerberus' top researcher.

Lucy stopped several paces short of the Illusive Man, she crossed her arms and frowned. "Reporting as ordered, sir." she said, her tone snippy. She was not happy.

Evangel caught his breath, smiled sheepishly at the Illusive Man and then stood next to Lucy. "Yes, reporting, all that…" he gave a mock salute and chuckled slightly.

The Illusive Man nodded. "Yes, doctor Evangel, Lucy. Always a pleasure." he nodded graciously to them. "I'm sorry for the rushed calling, but once I received the report from Mars and Shepard's involvement. I had to ensure you were safe." He smiled slightly towards his favorite soldier and scientist.

"Well, as you can see we're both fine, aren't we, Lucy?" Evangel smiled to said Spartan.

Lucy nodded and rolled her eyes. "We're fine, He wasn't on the ground team and I handled the Asari, subject T'soni should be dead by now."

"Don't be too sure, Lucy." The Illusive Man said simply. "The Reach is staffed with some of the most qualified individuals in the Alliance and it's equipment is above Grade-A standard. I imagine as we speak miss T'soni is quite well."

Lucy narrowed her eyes slightly and frowned further.

"Do not be too disappointed, Lucy. I suspected that Shepard would show up," Another puff and the Illusive Man tapped a key on his command pad. "I have a new assignment for you, Lucy. You're to head to our Glacier base and oversee the destruction of the reaper technology we have there." he stated simply. "I've come to believe the staff has been indoctrinated and is now working against our interests, and the interests of humanity. Dispose of them as you see fit."

Lucy nodded and turned away before marching out of the room.

Evangel watched her go with a smile. "So eager," he turned back to the Illusive Man. "What about me? What do you have planned for me?" he asked curiously excited.

Illusive Man tapped another key and brought up the picture of the data they had recovered from Mars. "Translate it, see if it can be useful. If not, destroy it."

Evangel nodded, saluted and left when the data was finished transferring to his Omni-tool. It was huge! He grinned ear to ear and the doors slide closed behind him,

With a sigh the Illusive Man spun on his chair and looked at the various data he had gathered on the Reapers. Looking back on it now he realised what a fool he had been, this technology was a poison that had no master other than its own malevolence. He tapped another key and the data banks concerning the Reaper tech was sealed under layers of heavy encryption.

Another tap and the schematics for the Legend appeared on his screen. This monster of a ship had taken almost everything Cerberus had to build, it had cost them as much as five Shepard's and even then the Illusive Man was more than pleased. He would have given the price of a hundred Shepards for this ship. Sadly, without the resources that Halsey had at her disposal it would be the only of its kind for years to come.

With the battle on Palavan going as it was, along with the pressure being applied to the major races of the council they would need something of a beacon of hope to ensure their morale stayed within acceptable range to continue the fight with the will to win.

They needed the Legend and so, the Illusive Man would gladly give them it. Just seeing it on a holoscreen was enough to give the Illusive Man hope that the Reapers could be defeated. It would do so for others.

Spinning around again when his communications line pinged him, the Illusive Man accepted the call and watched as Shepard's form appeared on the holopanel. "Shepard, a pleasure as always." he tipped his head in the Commander's direction. "It's been months since we've chatted."

Shepard didn't look amused. "Illusive Man, what the hell was that back on Mars? Innocents killed, soldier executed and the only possible data that could end this war destroyed." his tone rose with each accusation. "You better have a damn good explanation. You know what happens to those who cross me."

The Illusive Man set his cigar down and looked Shepard straight in the eye. "I'm well aware, I seem to remember you being one of my most effective operatives while working again the Collectors." he said simply, "To answer you concerns, I did what I had to. Shepard, you've seen the technology Halsey is offering humanity. Our future can't be secured through the Protheans or Reapers! She, Halsey, is the key." He explained easily. "I was a fool to believe that indoctrination was the key to our victory." he shook his head.

Shepard raised a brow. "So you've switched gears again? First you almost beg me to not destroy the Collector base, then you risk indoctrination by scavenging Reaper tech and now you want the technology that Halsey has, what's next? You gonna find God?"

The Illusive Man shook his head and tapped a key on his pad. "I've reinstated your Cerberus access and resources, along with back pay for… time in captivity." He stated, "I've also transferred Command of several Cerberus Wet Teams to you, you'll find them useful I think when you can't personally handle business across the theatre of war."

Shepard's expression of surprise was almost enough to make the Illusive Man smile, almost.

"…Why did you reinstate me?" Shepard asked once he got over the surprise.

"Because I still believe you're the shining beacon of hope the galaxy needs to pull itself together and fight back against the Reapers," The Illusive Man replied. "You, Commander Shepard, have done things in the last ten years that defy all expectations. You saved the citadel from Sovereign and his Geth army, you stopped and destroyed the Collectors on their own turf and now you're commanding one of the most advanced ships in the galaxy and being sent out to build bridges between races who feuds run deep as blood," the Illusive man's lips quirked upwards slightly. "And you're succeeding. Shepard, what did I say to you before you went through the Omega Relay?"

Shepard frowned, thinking back to that moment when he and the Illusive Man had one last talk before the supposed Suicide mission began. "You've never seen a better leader." he said finally.

"Yes, and I stand by that. Despite what everyone says our odds are in this fight, no matter what comes at humanity, at this galaxy, so long as you're at the head of the home team." The Illusive Man stood and moved over towards Shepard. "Then whoever stands behind you will fight their hardest, to the end and to victory. You've done the impossible twice before, now… the galaxy demands one more time for your miracle."

Shepard stayed silent, listening to the heavy praise and wondering where this was going.

"Which is why I've given you access to your old resources here at Cerberus, you need resources, I've given them." The Man stopped, turned and walked back to his chair and sat down. "I'm transferring what data we have on Reaper technology to your superiors inside the Alliance. I'll be here on my end analyzing the data from Mars and determine if its useful." He chuckled and withdrew another cigar. "Call me confusing, but I prefer dramatic."

Shepard frowned, but nodded after he thought it over. Could he really afford to turn the Illusive Man away? No, he couldn't Cerberus had informational resources on par with the Shadow Broker herself. He needed them and now he understood that the Illusive Man knew they needed Shepard.

He could live with that alliance for now.

"Alright," Shepard said and unfolded his arms. "I'll inform Hackett that you're willing to work with us."

The Illusive Man nodded. "Please do, though I imagine he'll know before you tell him." he smiled slightly and then said, "And Shepard, once this is over and you've saved the galaxy a third time. I would love to share a drink with you."

Shepard blinked, tilted his head and stared at the Illusive Man. "I don't see why not, you and Jacob owe me some drinks."

"Then I look forward to it, Goodbye, Commander." the com went out and Shepard disappeared from sight.

The Illusive Man sighed softly and turned back to his massive window. He tapped yet another key and a direct line connected to the good doctor. He waited, the line went unanswered a few more moments before it was green to go.

"Catherine," Illusive Man said in greeting.

"Illusive Man," was Dr. Halsey's calm reply. "To what do I owe this call?"

"Shepard just contacted me, I've reinstated him and given him access to his old resources and more," The Illusive Man replied easily. "He reacted as you predicted, quite impressive."

"I told you," Halsey said with confidence. "I knew someone like him. They're quickly becoming so similar it almost disturbs me." she admitted.

The Illusive Man wasn't that surprised at the admission. He and Catherine had been secretly conversing for four months, he had been aiming to recruit her to Cerberus for her extensive technological expertise and in doing so had discovered she was a genius on par with the galaxy's best minds to date. In the short time they had talked she had deduced what he wanted from her and after he had found himself on the receiving end they started over.

He had learned a great many things about the good doctor and she had taken him apart through their conversations, what drove him? Why did he feel that sacrifices had to be made for everything? She had answered these questions and more. She had opened his eyes.

"I imagine that can't be easy for you," The Illusive Man said lightly, tapping his cigar on the tray of his chair. "What's the news about Earth?" he asked, cutting to the point of their conversation. Cerberus wasn't blind, once they had found out their operative was indoctrinated and working for the Reapers they had sent a stealth ship to investigate.

The Illusive Man, in all his years, hadn't been ready to see more then a thousand Reapers in orbit around Earth, the Earth defense fleet had been decimated and almost hunted to nothing. If the Turians though Palavan was getting hit hard, then Earth was knocked out from orbit. With the Reapers there in force and the planet locked down, humanity had lost its homeworld.

He blew out a puff of smoke.

"It's bad, Hackett hasn't reported in since Sol went dark, neither has Anderson. What few stragglers from the fleet that are still arriving all say that Hackett's ship was one of the first to fall during the invasion," Halsey replied grimly. "Alliance Command is in chaos, With Hackett and Anderson gone, it falls on Terrence to step up in Hackett's place until he's found."

The Illusive Man sighed softly and shook his head. "That is a shame, the Alliance will need Admiral Hackett and Anderson." he stated, "Hackett and Anderson would have been on the ground when the Reapers hit. My contact told me they were to be in a meeting with the defense committee discussing the matters of cooperation with the other major races."

Halsey didn't reply for a few moments and he knew she was thinking. "So, you're saying they could still be alive on the surface of the planet?"

He smiled slightly. "Precisely, Catherine," he said with a nod. "If either, or both of them are still alive. They'll need to be extracted as soon as possible. The Alliance needs them."

Halsey sighed from her end. "I know, but the question is how do we get to them? Who do we send?"

"With Slipspace, Catherine," The Illusive Man blew out another puff of smoke. "Anything is possible." He said idly, tone suggestive.

"You're right, but who could we send? With the Reapers in orbit and those on the ground." Halsey said contemplatively, "We're looking at a very small window for success for an in-atmosphere Slipspace transition." she mumbled.

"I'd suggest Shepard, but he's playing bridge maker with the others," The Man replied. "We'll need a team of infiltration, high risk specialists." The Illusive Man said with a frown.

"I think I have the people in mind," Catherine replied confidently. "I'll need to call in some favors with Terrance," there was an alert in the background. "That's all the time I have for today, I'll contact you when I have more information." she rushed, "Keep me posted on the prothean data." she added.

"Of course, Catherine," The Illusive Man closed the line and took another puff of his cigar. He brought up several holographic screens and data rolled across them. He watched them, eyes and expression contemplative.

* * *

**Palavan, Cipritine. 2200 Hours.  
**Adrien ducked lowly and leapt to the side to avoid a strafing run by a Harvester that flew past, flanked by Alliance Fighters. The Harvester banked right and then exploded in a brilliant show of fire and scrap when an Alliance HELIX missile struck it. The S-IV kept prone as more gunfire erupted from across the street from her position. She and seven other Spartans had been reassigned to Generator station seven due to their shortage of man power after a heavy assault of Reaper Strike teams lead by Marauders and now she and the others had split up into the rubble and back alleys of the city to keep a lower profile.

It was only her bad luck that allowed her to run into a patrol of Reaper troops. Troops who took notice of her and were now working to pin her down while two Cannibals moved over to her left flank using the wreckage of what was once an administrative building. Her cover being a piece of debris from said building that hardly covered her, but it was better then letting her shields take all the punishment.

She stood up and levelled her Banshee. The weapons barrel flashed twice and the Marauder she targeted stumbled back when the powerful rounds struck its barriers, with a roar it moved into cover behind a wrecked speeder. The four Cannibals with it blanketed Adrien's position with more suppressing fire and she sprinted to the right behind a support pillar of the building across from the ruined administrative one.

She looked down at her ammo counter. It read 34 and she was empty, she'd be out of ammunition altogether. She'd opted to leave all her spare thermal magazines behind at the headquarters since they were expecting another siege like they had that morning. Looking up at the darkening sky she sighed and muttered. "Dumb idea…"

The clouds of smoke that she had become accustomed to seeing suddenly shifted and dispersed as a strong gust of wind blew over her position. She blinked and saw a shadow moving over the city, it was huge!

She turned on her Thermal Vision and once she saw it was red hot, she switched to night. She stopped cold, at first she thought it had been a Reaper that had made it past the multiple Ground-to-Space cannons. But she inspected it closer and saw it wasn't the usual Reaper silhouette, in fact. It was more like a whale and it was huge!

"_Attention Alliance and Turian forces! This is the CCV-_Legend, _we're heating up our point defense lasers, I'm urging all teams to paint ground targets now, we're providing air support_!" A woman's voice came over Adrien's com line and she almost jumped.

She watched as little red lights blinked across its blackened hull. Then her shields flared when the two flanking Cannibals fired on her from their new angle directly beside her from the second story of the ruined building. She staggered forward from the impact, hitting the ground and rolling over she sprayed their position with a seven round burst before she linked her reticle to her targeting laser. She marked their position, then she stood and marked the advancing Marauder's position.

"Targets marked." she said.

"_Acknowledged_," came a more synthetic voice over her com. Adrien checked and saw it was the same channel the woman had spoken from. "_Firing_."

She spared a glance upwards in time to see a thin beam of red streak down and impact the ruined building right over where the two flanking Cannibals had been. The metal boiled white hot and the Cannibals were flash vaporized by the intense heat, an explosion later the threat was gone before a similar explosion followed in the street where she knew the Marauder team had been.

The Spartan stood and moved back to her pillar. She looked out of her cover and observed the scene she had caused. The Marauder team had and the surrounding area had been reduced to melted metal and smoke. She looked up and saw dozens of red beams being fired from the massive vessel overhead.

This thing was providing air support like no a hundred fighters with pinpoint accuracy.

That amazed the Spartan more than she cared to admit and before she could send her thanks her com opened up and it was Nathan this time. "Theta, Sit-reps, now."

And soon, the reports across the communication lines started pouring, all of which were the same two replies. "Hostiles terminated, area secured." and "Hostile retreating, area is secure." She stopped herself from cheering into the com and instead she held her Banshee up and moved along the street towards the generator complex she had been assigned to.

That was until Nathan's reply to the dozen or so reports came back. "_Good work, Theta Company. Cipritine is now ours, readouts show all enemy forces within the city on full retreat_." there was a pause of gunfire on his end along with a small cry of 'Yes!' before his voice came back. "_Reports from the Spirit confirm Reaper forces in full retreat topside too._"

Adrien watched as the massive vessel lifted up and descended back towards the upper atmosphere. And when it didn't obscure her view of the sky she saw the fireballs of debris falling to the planet. She zoomed in a cluster.

They were the burning remains of a Reaper. She smiled.

"_Congratulations_," Nathan finished. "_We've just successfully taken back Palavan_."

Fighters swooped across the skies and destroyed any fleeing Harvesters that were trying to leave the city. Any ground troops left inside the city that weren't destroyed in the precision bombing were only small pockets of resistance, they moved in full retreat to the outskirts. Outnumbered they would either be intercepted by advance teams still inside the city or strafed by fighters on the grasslands surrounding the capital.

Either way. Adrien knew they had won this battle. She laughed and lowered her Banshee.

Damn did Victory feel good!

* * *

**Earth, Sol system. Remains of England Alliance Headquarters. 2200 Hours.  
**On the twentieth floor of the once great England Alliance Headquarters laid two Alliance soldiers. Both wore Onyx colored armor with the standard N7 crest on their chests and shoulders. One was looking through an advanced pair of binoculars while the other was looking through the scope of a N7 Valiant sniper rifle.

Both lay still, covered in a tarp of thermal blocking fabric, the power to the entire city had been cut hours into the "invasion" if it could be called that. So the Reapers had been using thermal vision optics to find survivors for the last three hours. Mostly civilians at this point as most of the soldiers had either died defending key locations or were on the retreat to nearby fallback positions.

So, why were these two N7 troopers deep inside a hot zone that had been deemed "lost" for awhile now? Simple. They had a very important task to do.

"Strike team, one hundred and thirty-seven meters out." spoke the man beside the sniper as he zoomed on a team of one Marauder, seven Cannibals and a single mobile turret platform that was dubbed "Ravager".

They were just two heavy cannons with legs and small size, their rounds tore barriers apart and were strong enough to pierce tank armor. They had only recently been deployed and no one knew what to think of them, what species did they come from?

"Targets in sight," the Sniper was female. Her voice concentrated, "Sight locked on the Marauder. Am I green?" she whispered.

"No, Cannibal on the far left could trace you." He replied lowly.

"Understood," her finger eased off the trigger a fraction as her barrel slowly shifted to follow the head of the Marauder as it moved its team down a street that had been filled with busy shoppers only twenty hours ago. Now only the debris and charred corpses remained, but they still patrolled it for survivors.

The man beside her shifted again and he frowned. "Hold, shift aim seven degrees to the right, three degrees up."

She did as told and saw a woman carrying a child from a wrecked speeder. She was running quickly down opposite end of her street, her head turned frantically in a panic.

And she was headed right towards the four-way intersection that linked her street and the street of the advancing Reaper strike team.

"Damnit, she's going to be caught." The man gritted.

The woman nodded ever so slightly, as if any fast movements would alert the enemy to their position. Which wasn't so farfetched, they had technically snuck into an enemy occupied building. It hadn't been easy, but it provided the best view within the area for their purposes.

"Yeah, she is…" she whispered. "Permission to fire?"

He paused ever so slightly, then he shifted and opened his com. "Admiral, sir, we have a civilian and child within the path of a Strike team, she's going to be made if we don't intervene. However, it we fire we'll be compromised. Orders, sir?" he asked, he couldn't make this decision.

In moments, Admiral Anderson's voice came through. "_Copy all, Sniper team. You're green to fire, if things get hot mission is aborted. Good luck_." he replied.

The man released a breath and addressed his partner. "You're green."

"Good," She replied simply and her finger tensed on the trigger. "I was going to fire anyways," she held her breath and her rifle barrel flashed once.

Through his Binoculars he watched as the Cannibal to the right of the Marauder, the one that would have had a clear line of sight to trace the shot, slump over without a head. The Marauder snapped its weapon up and stared straight at the tower before it took slumped over as another Disruptor rounds tore through its shields and destroyed the right side of its head. It slumped over to the right.

The man shifted his gaze back to the civilian. She had stopped, looked around and ran to destroyed Mako tank. She placed her baby down on the ground, then pried the hatch open and climbed inside with the little bundle. Once she was out of his sight he turned back to the Reaper team.

The remaining Cannibals had taken cover and the Ravager was firing into the nearby building, apparently trying to snuff the sniper out. How wrong it was. Zooming on it he said, "We haven't been made, alright. Operation is still green." he opened his com.

"Admiral, we're still green for the operation. Civilian is safe for now, you're good to advance, we'll keep the Reaper pinned in their street while you sneak by. Good luck sir, give Admiral Hackett my regards when you save his ass."

Anderson chuckled over the com. "_I will, Corporal, You and the Chief keep up overwatch, we'll be out before y'know it_."

The com went out and through his binoculars he saw roughly two dozen blurred figures moving in the shadows in in the ruined buildings of the street that the Reaper Team was in. they didn't stop, they kept moving.

"Alright, they're clear." He said, lowering his gaze to check on the civilian, she wasn't in sight. So he assumed she was safe. "Cease fire. And go to standby."

"Damn," the woman replied with a sigh she lowered her weapon and stretched her arms out a bit. "It was just getting fun." she added with a yawn.

"Yeah, well, don't worry Cass," replied the man. "We've still got a war to fight down here."

Cass, or Cassandra, chuckled and lifted the thermal blocking blanket to reveal her sharp blue eyes and fiery red hair. A young stunning face marred by only a scar running from her right eye brow to the upper left of her forehead. "Good, you're not stiff, Keller?"

Keller grunted and placed his binoculars down and moved the blanket to the side slightly. His own dark hair and soft green eyes stared back at her with a fatigue she knew came with running on rations and water for the last twenty hours since England had been taken.

She assumed they would have fled England for the fallback position several klicks out of the city hours ago before it was completely taken. But they had caught a distress signal sent out by Admiral Hackett and that kicked Anderson into action, he had put together a strike team and infiltrated the city to retrieve the Admiral. The last they heard from him he was holed up with several others in the basement of an old Alliance munitions factory. Really old, used mostly for storage nowadays.

Keller sighed softly. "You think we can take Earth back?"

"Well, we can't lose. So yeah, that's the only other option." Cass replied simply.

"Yeah," he said with a nod. "you're right."

* * *

**End of chapter 26**

_**There it is! A little later then I thought, also, kinda sad due to the lack of reviews from the last chapter! Supersadpanda. Anyways, here it is. Cerberus is going to be more helpful this time around, because the way I see it. The Illusive Man cares only about the most powerful tech, which has proven to be the Covenant UNSC tech Halsey and he possess. So, he's side burning his research on the Reapers in favor of a greater find. Since I believe he and Halsey would see eye to eye, as both have made brutal sacrifices for the greater good of humanity. So, I had Halsey on their side. **_

_**Anyways, Read, review and fav! Thanks, g'night all!**_


	28. Tom and Lucy

**In Infinitum**

**Chapter 27**

**Tom and Lucy**

**SSV-Normandy SR2, En route to Sol System. 1800 Hours.  
**The Normandy along with what was left of the Arcturus Defense, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh fleets speared through FTL towards the Sol Relay where Operation: EAGLE would begin. Operation: EAGLE had been created by Admiral Hector Terrence, Doctor Catherine Halsey and Special Operations Chief Franklin Mendez, It was daring and brave. But it was also classified as a near suicide mission since they only had roughly a few dozen ships to provide cover for their infiltration to the planet and the window they had to extract Hackett was less then twelve minutes.

It was a tight time schedule and very low odds of success, especially if the Alliance's intel was off. But, as the top brass had assured them Admiral Hackett and Anderson were both holed up inside the remnants of a bomb shelter used by the Alliance for emergencies such as orbital bombardment, it had been created twenty years ago and very few people knew about it. A perfect foxhole.

Now, it was only a matter of fighting through the massive fleet of Reapers to get to them along with some insane ground to space Hades cannons. Not exactly a milk run.

The Helmsman turned to the Captain. "We're a minute out, Captain. Hope they're ready for what we're about to drop them into," he turned back to the controls and frowned in concentration.

"No one is," The Captain replied with a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair before turning around and marching towards the elevator to get to the hanger.

The doors opened and he stepped into the hanger bay. He moved over to the single Jager shuttle that was prepped to leave the Normandy, along with the seven troopers next to it all gearing up for combat in the newest gear if half the things that the Captain saw were any indication.

They were all adorned in Alliance Shock Commando armor, heavy duty stuff available only to Special Operations teams on high-risk, fast paced missions. From the specs the Captain read earlier they had motors in the legs to increase running speed while reducing physical strain on the wearer. Their underlayer of the suit was made from a special crystalline weave normally reserved for MJOLNIR armor that the newer SPARTAN-IVs used, It was strong, flexible and once you took away the thought-makes-move part of the layer that ended it with snapping your limbs. Safe.

The outer layer was made of a series of matte blue plating, dark blue, almost black in color if it were any darker. Their material wasn't listed, but he assumed they were tough. Along with the shields on them as well. They were very expensive, more so then SPI, less so then MJOLNIR. So, he assumed they were another invention of the rising star of science that was Dr. Halsey.

The leader, a Commando with a red bar across his bicep, noted the Captain and stood straight with a nod. His team were ready,

The Captain returned the nod. "Commandos, you've been selected for this mission because you are the best, the elite." he scanned the seven soldiers. "You all know what to do, you must succeed or the Alliance Command structure will severely crippled." he paused and then saluted. "Good luck."

He turned and marched back to the elevator, leaving the Commandos to themselves.

The Red leader nodded to his team and they set their gear inside the Jager shuttle, then they got in themselves and the hatches closed behind them with a hiss.

* * *

**Glacier base, Sanctum. 1800 Hours.  
**A Cerberus scientist scrambled towards the door in a panic as the dying gasp of one of his colleagues behind echoed inside his head like a horrific scream. He closed his eyes, got to the door and tried to enter the password. The door began to slide open when felt white hot pain lance up his body a moment before his world darkened and he slumped over.

Lucy withdrew her blade and flicked it to remove the gathered blood. She surveyed her work, all the bases scientists had been killed and the small security staff with them. Nothing was left of this base sides the Reaper Technology that the Illusive Man wanted contained or destroyed.

She walked over to one of said tech, it was a piece of something she couldn't name. With a sigh she disengaged the shields containing it and took it in her hand. She hefted it up, observed it and shook her head before tossing it over her shoulder into the wall, it clattered to the floor.

"All this trouble for some tech," she muttered, why did they fight? She wanted to ask questions but she was a soldier and she would do her duty to humanity. Moving over to the console she pressed a key and the data was being encrypted, compressed and ready for transport.

She paused slightly when she felt another presence in the room with her, closing her eyes Lucy waited for the moment to move. A gun was pressed to her back.

"Don-"

She didn't give her attacker time to finish his sentence before she spun to the side while using her elbow to move the weapon to the side as it discharged, destroying the console she was using. Her blade came up and slashed across the man's shielded forearm of his weapon hand.

He grunted and jumped back, his helmet obscuring his face but she knew who it was. This man had made a habit of following her and she could always tell it was him by the feeling in her gut. "Spectre Ambrose, stalking me yet again, are you?" she asked coyly.

Tom frowned and raised his Phalanx pistol. "Why did you kill everyone here?" he asked.

"Orders," Lucy replied and shot forward. Her body disappeared when her cloak activated and Tom leapt to the side to avoid her usual slash to his neck, before he hit the ground he too vanished under the power of his active camoflage.

The air stilled and nothing move. A weapon flashed and Lucy dove to the size when two more shots impacted her center, making her shields flare and her cloak drop. The air beside her flickered and her elbow struck out and sent Tom back holding his gut.

She ducked and sprang at him blade first. He deactivated his camo and brought his hand down to smack the blade to the side, it sheared through his shield and cut into his side, but it wasn't a vital and it hurt. But it provided the opening he needed.

His hand gripped the blade tightly and he raised his knee upwards, driving it into her gut and making her hiss in pain. Her grip loosened on the blade slightly and he jerked it out of her hand, pulled it from himself and tossed it away to the side.

She didn't take as much time to gather her breath as he hoped before she was on him again, tackling his midsection and taking him to the floor, they rolled twice and stopped with her on top of him. He punched her across the face with his, she kneed his groin and her left hand came up and pinned his right down and left went to her neck.

She leaned back, raised her right hand and took his knife from its sheath while doing so. When his hand missed her neck she rolled off of him and to her feet.

He reared his legs back and jumped to his own feet before he looked to his discarded Phalanx a feet away. She followed his gaze, saw the weapon and they both leapt for it. He was faster, his hand gripped the weapon's handle.

And then it was impaled. The blade of his knife pierced his shields, palm and grip of the pistol before embedding itself in the floor below a good two and half inches.

He hissed at the pain. Lucy moved over him and pinned his left arm behind his back with her knee, she leaned down, took his helmet and removed it. She saw the face of her hunter, his hair was dark, unkempt and wild, but still short to be combat effective. His eyes were dark and glaring over his shoulder at her, giving him an air of danger. His face was scarless sides the scar she had given him during one of their past meetings since the beginning.

"Who the hell are you?" Tom hissed and tried to move his impaled hand. Pain lanced up his arm and he stopped, he was pinned.

Lucy stared down at him and something inside her made her raised her other hand and remove the Phantom combat mask she wore, it slid off, revealing her face to her enemy. Her own dark hair was neatly taken care of, her purple sharp eyes gazed at him like a knife and her face was as he had remembered it.

"…It is you," Tom muttered, suddenly sullen. "I didn't want to believe it was you…" he said, eyes softening with something she didn't know.

What did he mean? she had been with Cerberus for awhile now, she didn't remember much else then waking up in a lab after a botched operation and being told she was one of Cerberus' top operatives. She had never seen this man before in her life, least. She didn't recall his face at memory. A past associate perhaps? She could have known him before her memories were lost.

While she zoned out in the possibilities Tom was in his own world as well. He had been hunting Cerberus to track down Lucy, and the first time he and this woman, now Lucy, had fought he had noticed the similarities. But he didn't want to believe them, that Lucy had tried to kill him. That Lucy was an enemy and she wanted to kill him. He accepted the possibility of another Spartan created by Cerberus or just plain coincidence.

Of course, he should have listened to the facts. But how could he when they pointed to his oldest friend being his enemy and needing to die because she served an organization of terrorists? No… he wouldn't accept that. He wouldn't kill her and he sure as Hell wouldn't let Cerberus continue with what they did to her to make her this way.

He growled and lifted his had up with a jerk. The knife left the floor and he rolled with it, she made a surprised sound before she was on her back and Tom was ripping the knife from his hand. She growled in her throat and tossed her mask at him, he swatted it away and was repaid with a fist to the face. He fell back nursing his nose.

Lucy rolled twice, got to her feet and rushed to her sword. She took it up, turned and rushed Tom. "Time to die!" she growled.

He lowered his hands, then raised his pistol and pressed the trigger. The weapon in his hand exploded and he cried out as the shards and heat washed over his unprotected face. She took the opportunity and kicked him in the chest onto his back. She placed her knee on his chest and lifted her sword over head her head to impale the Spectre.

Tom looked up at her, then drove his knife into her side with a twist. She gasped in pain and winced.

He withdrew it and grit his teeth and yelled. "Damnit!" he swung it for her neck.

She saw it coming, no time to dodge. She thrust her blade down towards his face point first.

She felt the blade on her neck and he saw the point of her sword near his eye. Time stopped.

Lucy panted, eyes slightly widened as she stared down at the man below her. Her heart was racing and she felt sweat build and drip down to fall onto his cheeks, giving him the appearance of a crying man. She just stared at his eyes until finally finding her voice. "Why?"

Tom stared back at her, the point of her sword at his eye. Hovering there shaking as her own palms shook. "Why what?" he whispered.

"Why did you stop your knife…" She clarified. Hands still shaking, she didn't understand. Her kinetic barriers wouldn't have stopped his blade from slitting her throat. She should be dying now.

Tom blinked once, then replied levelly. "The same reason you stopped your sword." His own forehead was soaked with sweat, he was tired and his hand was bleeding freely like her own wound. His skin was reddened where the heat from his exploding Phalanx had got him.

Lucy knew he was right. Something inside her stopped her from finishing him. Her blade hovered over his eye and tried as she might, her body didn't budge to finish it. The feeling in her gut and chest grew tight and this all felt wrong.

_Tom…_

The name echoed in her head like a distant whisper and she said softly. "You're Tom, aren't you?"

It had to be, she had dreams of a man named Tom. When she slept she was on battlefields with him, in some old armor fighting monsters with primitive guns. He was always there, beside her and covering her and she covered him like it was second nature.

"Yes, Lucy," he nodded slowly, making sure not to stab his eye on the point of her sword. "I'm Tom." he affirmed.

She gulped, he stared. She almost closed her eyes to imagine him in the armor she dreamed of, but she just forced herself to keep them open and watch him. "Operation torpedo…" she mumbled, remembering the briefing she dreamed one time in her many sleeps.

"Was the end of our Company, Min died when his charge blew prematurely and…" Tom began.

"Adam took a pink shard to the back… he died holding them off for our team to finish the mission," Lucy finished for him. She had dreamed the mission in detail, vivid detail and she had felt herself wake screaming when she herself screamed in the dream at Min's demise. "How… do you know that?"

Tom slowly raised his hand and moved her blade away from his face. "Because I was there, you know me, Lucy." he said, placing a palm on his chest and his eyes searched her own. He could see the confusion in them. "I know you too, Lucy."

She dropped her sword and gripped her head. "What is this? These are dreams, you can't be that Tom, you're lying somehow! Dreams, nothing more!" she grew almost frantic, this was too much for her. How could he see her dreams? That's all they were! The races in her dreams didn't exist and there was no asteroid or system called Pegasi whatever its name was! This was insane.

"You can't be real, he can't be real…" She mumbled. Suddenly feeling small and exposed as her frustration and confusion mounted.

Tom stared at her, eyes a mix of hurt and relief. She didn't forget him, not entirely anyways. Her subconscious remembered him and deep behind whatever lies Cerberus had implanted in her skull, she knew him still. But to see her acting this way, denying his existence pulled at his chest in painful ways.

He pushed them back and leaned up when she removed her knee. He wrapped his arms around her and said, "Calm down, Lucy. It's alright, it's alright." he soothed, he didn't know what to say, but he had seen enough families do this to know how to do it himself.

Lucy didn't say anything after awhile before she looked up at him, her hair brushing his cheek as she levelled her eyes with his. "Tom… are we alive?" she asked in that small, shaken voice she did on that shore so long ago.

Tom nodded slowly. She stared a moment, then she slumped against him and they both fell over when Tom wasn't prepared for it. He huffed once, looked down at her unconscious form. He guessed the mental stress of the conditioning fighting back her memories had done this. He crushed his worries, shifted and lifted her bridal style, he glanced around before setting her on a desk and moving over to his helmet.

He put it back on, turned his communicator on and said. "The base has been cleared… I've got a prisoner, need extraction at the LZ in five." he turned it off and moved back over to Lucy. Aside from the purple eyes, she was exactly how he remembered her.

And her voice had matured as well, he noted now that he thought about it. It stirred something inside him, he smiled slightly. Something good finally happened, he had gotten her back.

* * *

**End of chapter 27**

**I know I kinda left a cliffhanger for the upcoming operation EAGLE in here. But I felt I needed to get the whole "Lucy and Tom" plot going along before I side burnered it completely in favor of focusing wholly on the war and not the things that happen on the side. Now, I am however a little conflicted and where to take our two little Spartans relationship. Way I see it, it can go either way, they could become full blown lovers, since their relationship is rather open to the concept. Or they can remain their very tightly knit, fire team family style. I would like some thoughts on this! Thanks. **

**And, that's right people, like Asteroid Assault and CURTAINFALL. The next chapter will be dominated by a bunch of shooting, sneaking and Alliance VS Overwhelming odds goodness!**


	29. Operation EAGLE

**In Infinitum**

**Chapter 28  
Operation: EAGLE**

**Jager shuttle, Space over Earth. 1800 Hours.  
**The lead Commando stood upright by the door next to the cockpit of the shuttle as it rocked again and the windows flashed with the light of another fiery explosion as they gunned it through the chaotic space battle that was taking place around them.

The Normandy had taken some flak from the Reapers the moment it entered the fray and had dropped them off early. A risky move, but the Commandos agreed it was for the best. The Reapers really had a thing for Shepard and if they Normandy SR2 continued further trying to dodge their fire it would have met its original's fate.

So now a lone shuttle was currently rolling, flipping and otherwise blurring through the largest Reaper Fleet towards the planet below. Peaking out the window one could see the large blue oceans, the green was small, but still there. However, on the dark side of the planet there were fires, large fires. Some smaller ones bloomed as well.

Some just appeared in large explosions altogether.

The Commander looked down at his wrist mounted computer. It had been mounted into his wrist armor, since Omni-Tool gave off light and since this was a night operation. They didn't need that sort of thing. They'd be dropping near the England HQ of the Alliance.

Another ship, the SSV-Victorious, exploded beside them as three Reaper main guns sheared and crisscrossed over its frame. It's barriers doing almost nothing to save it from fate. The Commando stared at it through his V shaped visor a moment. The scene reflected in it.

The shuttle rocked once again and his wrist computer pinged an alert.

He looked down at the screen. It read 12:00, then 11:59...

He turned to his team. Gave them a single nod and they all lifted their own wrist computers. They synchronized their timers and the mission had begun officially. EAGLE was underway.

They cleared the atmosphere and the inner temperature cooled.

"Red Commander, you've got twelve minutes. Get it done, once you're down there. You're on your own until you activate the signal beacon. Godspeed." Came the Captain of the Normandy's voice, strained and concentrated.

Red Commander, now Red for short, hefted up his M120-Conviction assault rifle. The weapon had been designed from the ground up from HARVEST base and so far, he and his team were the only ones allowed access for this mission. They were expensive and well worth the cost for their capabilities.

Like the Banshees. The Conviction used Thermal Magazines, allowing three thermal clips to be used at once for fewer reloads, it was a double barrelled weapon as well. Relatively heavy by assault rifle standards, but not so much as the Revenant or Saber. More on par with the Mattock. What separated this weapon though was the lower barrel acted as a Falcon grenade launcher, it fired 30mm styled slugs that exploded on either contact or airburst depending on the selected. It used thermal clips, in fact a single grenade used 20 units of the weapons 80 ammunition count. So prolonged use wasn't advised.

But it packed punch, the Conviction was "weaker" than the Banshee in terms of sheer stopping power, but its accuracy and firing speed made up for it in the longer range combat.

Three more of his Commandos also sported Convictions. However, the two on the far right of the shuttle, each looking out the same window. M201-Dragon launchers attached to their backs. The M201 Dragon were shoulder mounted rocket launchers that carried a total of four anti-armor 40mm HE rockets that exploded on contact. They had lock on and tracking abilities for air units and flew faster then most conventional missiles. Weighty, but the two could handle it.

The last member of Red's Commando team was their sniper. He carried a M55-Linear sniper rifle. This thing was a treat, first of its kind and damned expensive, almost as much as a suit of MJOLNIR. The weapon fired single, high energy output slugs that melted through damn near every sort of armor in the galaxy. It used plasma, not the knock off flash electrocuted air that Geth weapons used, but true, shaped plasma bolts.

The weapon heated fast between shots and required thermal clips to keep its temp down. One clip per shot. The scope also used advanced Heat/EM field sensors and targeting systems to allow the user to see through light cover, the best part was if it could be seen through, then the Linear could pierce it and get to the target. A true Marksmans gun.

Their shuttle descended to the city. The HQ was in sight and the doors hissed open and revealed the hellish landscape, the taller buildings had been destroyed and knocked over, debris scattered the once clean streets and signs of heavy fighting could be spotted in every direction. Blast scoring, craters and spent thermal clips.

He checked the timer.

11:47

He snapped his hand up and made a sharp "chop" gesture with his hand twice for the silent "Go! Go!". His team piled off the shuttle and formed an offensive half circle around the shuttle with their weapons scanning the terrain. The Dragon wielders were now holding their sidearms. Phalanx pistols upgraded with high caliber barrels and scopes.

Red stepped off the shuttle, turned to the pilot and gave a thumbs up. The pilot nodded and got out of the shuttle with him, they didn't check their timers to know they still had eleven minutes to make it to the bunker, defeat the local enemy presence and secure the pickup site then signal the Normandy. So they sprinted towards the city and left their shuttle.

It wasn't long before they covered five blocks in their sprint, they each feel the strain on their legs. Red stopped short of an intersection, raised an open palm and the rest of his team skid to a halt and raised their weapons and listened to the sounds around them.

He frowned behind his visor and his dark eyes narrowed. Footsteps, a few feet out. Heavy, metallic. Red knew it was Reaper forces, there were more footsteps and soon, one could hear the guttural growls of Cannibals.

He looked to his sniper.

The man gestured to the Northeast road of the intersection. Right where they needed to go, so, now he had a choice. Try to circle around slowly and hopefully avoid an unnecessary firefight while possibly using more time then what a firefight demanded. Or set a quick ambush and take them out before they call for backup.

His palm became a fist.

His team spread out quickly and took various forms of cover. He himself ducked behind a turned over truck and raised his Conviction, readying a grenade shot. The first strike had to be the last.

They waited roughly four seconds before the first Cannibal cleared the corner of the buildings and walked into the center of the intersection. Followed by four more, then a Marauder and two Ravagers.

Red waited until they were all in view. Then, his weapon flashed and the 30mm glowing blue slug flew forward and landed between the first and second Cannibals, it rolled twice and detonated with enough force to send them flying to the side with shrieks. The rest of his team fired their own weapons.

A missile streaked by his shoulder and impacted one of the Ravager's dead center, reducing it to organic and cybernetic bits and pieces. Another impacted the second as it turned towards their position.

The Marauder roared, then crumpled over when a beam of blue cut through its forehead. The remaining Cannibals didn't have time to return fire before they were cut down by Conviction fire.

Five seconds, the ambush cost them five seconds and time wasn't their friend today. Red stood, gave the all clear sign and sprinted forward down the street the patrol had come from. His team followed after him in a loose V formation with him at its head.

They ran for five minutes, avoiding two more patrols and removing a single snipers nest of Marauders along the way before they stopped at a relatively intact hotel. They chose a large room and Red checked their coordinates.

They were four blocks away and the sounds of gunfire were evident. He stood, looked out the window towards the park where the bunker was located beneath, his visor zoomed in to 12 times and he saw several dozen Cannibals laying down fields of fire while Ravager support guns pounded the position from behind them. He could make out several shapes of human returning fire on their enemy.

No good, they were outnumbered ten to one. This also posed a hard problem for Red and his team too, they had to extract Hackett and Anderson from that war zone within the next five minutes and twenty-two seconds before their window closed overhead.

He stood, grabbed his Conviction and jumped out the second story window. His team fell in behind him onto the paved streets. They took off towards the park, they would see how their initial plan played out there before making any hard decisions.

* * *

Anderson ducked low and watched as a Raveger round tore through the barriers of the marine behind him. Tearing the man in two as he screamed in agony a moment before he died of the trauma his body just suffered. Blood oozed from him and the Admiral fought back his revulsion to return fire with his Avenger. Taking down an advancing Cannibal.

"I'm out!" yelled a marine hiding behind a metal blockade in the hallway to the bunker entrance below ground where Hackett was being held. He was injured and receiving medical attention by the medic that Anderson had brought, he would make it. Hackett was a tough bastard.

Another shot rang out and Anderson flinched when dirt and blood splattered his face as a body beside him was shredded by the too wide thrown grenade from a Cannibal. He leaned out of his cover when his shields recharged and fire a three round burst into the Cannibal who through the grenade.

It fell over and two more took its place.

Where did they come from? He knew Reapers liked to drop hundreds of ground troops. But this was just ridiculous!

"Make it count!" Anderson tossed a spare thermal clip to the marine. The seven remaining marines he had under his command were all running on low ammo since they had managed to get a communication out through an old dish array and some mobile battery platform. Then the Reapers tracked the signal and here they were.

"Thanks sir!" The marine peaked over his cover and fire a long string of shots. A Marauder's shields dropped and the Cannibal in front of it fell unmoving to the ground. The Marauder fired a revenge burst that carved the Marines neck and sent the man gagging and gurgling to the ground clutching his neck with frenzied eyes.

Anderson knew there was nothing to be done for him and instead finished the Marauder off who killed his man. He watched it fall a moment too long before his shields pinged, flared and fell and a round tore his shoulder apart.

He stumbled back into cover and looked at his bleeding wound. It burned in pain a moment before it dulled to a soft throb like the rest of his aching and tired body, fighting for hours without end on little sleep was a helluva fight and he didn't want to keep at it too much longer.

He'd kill for a miracle and some tequila right now.

One of the seven rear cover Ravagers exploded in a show of blue and red blames along with the bits and pieces. Then the two others beside it with their own spectacular show of explosive prowess. Before the bits even cleared gunfire erupted from another direction in a flanking blanket of fire.

Cannibals and Marauders fell over as they were caught unaware of the new enemies that were now laying them down with incredible accuracy as heads were tore in two from precise single shots or torso mangled with accurate, savage center of mass sprays.

The Ravagers lumbered around to take aim at the new targets that had yet to reveal themselves.

Two more rockets streaked from the rubble of the nearby corner store. One struck the ground between two close Ravagers and took out their left and right legs, they fell over onto their sides and struggled to rise. The second hit another center of mass and reduced it to paste.

Anderson was awed by the execution of the attack that was taking place that he almost forgot he was part of his firefight too. "Marines, we got some backup! Return fire!"

His men cheered and with renewed confidence they fired upon the enemy who was now being hit from three fronts.

* * *

Red watched the attack go off without a hitch, the enemy had been so focused on the marines at the entrance to the bunker they'd hadn't expected an outside attack from their rear. Their snipers had been dealt with swiftly and their team's sniper had taken their place and was waiting for the order to begin his own terror shooting.

He had instructed his rocket Commandos to take out the Ravager line while he and the others blanketed the Cannibal and Marauder lines with their Convictions. It had been pure gold when the first rockets struck their target and it took them time to realise the attack had come from behind them.

And it was also gold when they were cut down by he and his teams combined field of fire with their automatic weapons.

He paused, then let loose a five round burst and took down a Cannibal trying to feast on one of its fallen brethren. He traced another, then took it down before his ammunition counter pinged empty. His thermal magazine automatically ejected when he lifted another one up to the feeder. He slid it in, his weapon clicked full and he resumed fire.

Red fired a grenade and it soared across the road into the park and detonated beside a Marauder hiding behind a makeshift barrier made from several welded metal benches. It was in three pieces now. He watched as they returned inaccurate fire, confused as to where they were shooting from. He stood and did a half crouch, half run to a new position as his old one was pelted with fire.

He had also instructed his team to keep mobile and not stick to one place too long. Keep the enemy guessing and off balance, when the marines joined the shooting it made the whole play all the better.

He stopped, watched the last Marauder fall when their sniper took it. Then he stepped into the street and his fellow Commandos with him, side the sniper who would still be perched on the three story building overlooking the field and providing overwatch for their approach.

Red stopped short at the entrance to the bunker hall and waited, holding up his had in the Alliance signal for "all clear". To say Red was surprised when Admiral Anderson poked his head up from behind another barrier was an understatement, he expected the Admiral to be with Hackett. Then again, Anderson was an N7 soldier and likely felt more at ease fighting then sitting and letting others fight.

"Admiral, sir!" Red snapped off a salute. His voice rough, professionally so.

"Commander," Anderson saluted and saw the ranking bars on his left shoulder. "What's a Commando doing here?"

Alliance Shock Commandos weren't common by any means, they were more rare then N7 troopers and far better trained, few made it their status and they were only under the command of the top brass. "Humans who rivalled Spartans" their instructors wanted them to be.

"Extracting you and Hackett, sir." Red replied simply and raised his wrist computer. "We have only two minutes and twenty seconds left in our window before the fleets pull back to the relay." he added with some urgency.

Anderson frowned. "Understood, we'll get Hackett out here, he's been injured and will need a medic when he's extracted. Signal for pickup, Commander." he turned and marched into the hall towards the Bunker.

Red frowned behind his visor. He reached into one of his many pouches, withdrew the small grenade sized beacon and clicked the button. It pinged once and he knew the signal had been received.

He tossed it down and turned to his team. He gestured sharply with his hand and they reloaded and spread out a bit around the park, covering all sides until their ride came down for them from the space battle over the planet. He looked up and several fireballs were already falling through the atmosphere, most would burn up. But the larger pieces would make it to ground.

Moments later Hackett stepped out from the hall with Anderson at his side. His head was bandaged and he was using a crutch to support himself while his left leg was in a support sling to keep pressure off it. The bandages were slightly bloody too.

"Commander," Hackett saluted quickly, still protocol. "Glad to see a friendly face."

"Admiral, sir," Red nodded and gestured to the beacon. "Normandy is incoming for extraction. You, Admiral Anderson and the rest of your men will be taken off planet and-"

Anderson cut in. "I'm not going, Commander." His voice was firm and his stare too, he meant it. "Neither are my men, we've got friends and family here."

As if to affirm this claim, the surviving marines clustered together, tightened their holds on their rifles and stared right back at Red. He was impressed, Anderson knew how to command loyalty.

"Sir, I have direct orders from Alliance brass to see you both to the Citadel." Red countered simply.

"And as an Admiral, I am overriding those orders, your new mission to extract Hackett and get him to the Citadel, I'll stay behind and organize the local packets of survivors into a resistance force." he explained. He gestured to his men, "See these men? Ten hours ago they didn't have the uniforms, blondie there was in a bathroom stall huddling in the dark with his wife when I found him. She's waiting for him back at the hideout. There's hundreds more like him all around the city." he shook his head. "I'm not leaving them without leadership."

Red looked to the marines. Indeed, only a few carried the stances of trained combatents, the others were slouched, loose and holding weapons too loosely. They were civilians in combat armor, nothing more. But Anderson had a point and he had to agree the man made a good point.

"Alright, Admiral sir, mission parameters accepted," Red nodded.

The beacon pinged again and Red turned to the sky. Sure enough, the Normandy was steadily approaching, a gaping gash on the left side of its upper hull indicated the ferociousness of the battle overhead. The hanger opened and out flew a new shuttle, two of them. They came down and hovered a few inches off the ground wand opened their doors.

Red gestured Hackett to one. Soon, Red and his team joined Hackett in one shuttle while the other took civilians and children. All that they could, soon filled. The second shuttle closed its doors and took off, then, Red opened his door and called.

"More room for civilians." he said to Hackett's questioning stare. He paused, then turned to Admiral Anderson. "Admiral, good luck, sir!"

"You too, Commander!" Anderson replied over the roar of the engines.

He could tell the Admiral approved, he nodded and "hmm"ed thoughtfully before they got twenty more people on board then they took too off, there were about fifty civilians now safely off Earth. A small victory.

Red felt a tug on his gauntlet and he looked down to see a small boy, no older than eight, looking at up him with a smile. "Did you save us mister?" he asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, I had help too," he gestured to his fellow Commandos. "From my team."

"Thanks, to yous too!" the boy said, turning sharply to look at the others. They nodded back at the child and the ride continued on in silence.

* * *

**End of chapter 28**

**There they are, I love to think I did my "Commandos" well, gave them that whole "I'm a quiet badass and show it by kicking everythings ass" feel, but I don't know. I think the overboard lack of naming and speech might have hurt that a bit, but. I tried. Anyways, thoughts on these new charries? Would ya like to see them again in the future? Leave them out for a long while? Hmm?**

**Oh, and review pleeeease! They give me happy feelings!**


	30. Horrors of the Present

**In Infinitum**

**Chapter 29**

**Horrors of the present  
**

**SSV-Upon Reach, FTL. 0200 Hours.  
**"We're accepting help from Cerberus now?!"

Shepard watched as Anderson's face twisted with barely contained anger, but his tone was another story. It was livid and about ready to explode. He took a small breath, he had expected this, Anderson hated Cerberus almost as much as he hated Saren.

And that was saying something.

Shepard watched as the holographic shapes of Hackett and Halsey stared at Anderson, only Halsey seemed a bit surprised by the outburst. Then again, she didn't know Anderson like he and Hackett did.

"Anderson, I understand your concern," began Shepard slowly. "But we need their resources, you've seen the videos of their dreadnought on Palavan." He really hoped bringing up the Cerberus super ship that had levelled and repelled the Reaper fleet over Palavan would help.

It didn't.

"My point exactly, if we leave Cerberus alone they'll create more of those ships and try to take us out." Anderson stated with fire, glaring at Shepard. "I thought you cut ties to that organization after the Collector mission, Shepard." he accused, seeming betrayed.

Shepard swallowed, he hadn't. But how could he? Cerberus had given him resources the Alliance wouldn't, Shepard had learned never to look a gift horse in the mouth. No matter how bad the reputation of the horse. "I did," he lied. "I contacted the Illusive Man to confront him about Mars."

"That's another thing, what did Cerberus have to gain for attacking the Mars archives?" Hackett asked from his place, more calm about the situation. Halsey had too regained her composure.

Shepard cleared his throat. "They wanted to capture the data themselves and then destroy the data we had." he replied simply. This was becoming a tiring mission, he was playing politics when he should have been out on the front lines with Theta. Instead he was here in a meeting of the brass.

"Why?"

"Because humanity's future lays with Halsey, Admirals," Shepard didn't bother lying. He may as well have gotten it out there that Cerberus had their eye on the good doctor.

Halsey blinked when both Anderson and Hackett looked to her. She shifted, straightened her shirt and said, "My guess? He means my technology, the technology I have in my head is very advanced, it doesn't rely on eezo, allows FTL drive without relays and has allowed us to deploy many advanced ground troops."

She pushed her glasses up.

"Speaking of the Spartans," Hackett said with a frown. "What's the reports from our companies?"

Shepard stiffened visibly. He was eager to hear about Theta and their exploits on Palavan.

Halsey blinked, her face fell and she sighed loudly. A dread took over Shepard's gut and he almost gulped with worry.

"Reports indicate Omega Company's deployment in Hades Gamma are successful, they've sustained no casualties and are slowly pushing back the Reaper ground troops each day," Halsey explained. "Like our statistics suggested, they're the best." she smiled crookedly before she moved on. "Delta on the other hand has suffered ten deaths, four wounded…" the tone of regret was there for everyone to hear. "They're holding their positions well, but the battle on Illium is taking its toll. We may need to extract them soon."

_And now, _Shepard thought with tenseness, Theta's turn.

"Theta Company's deployment to Palavan was… brutal, the mission was accomplished and the positions held. But they suffered thirty-seven percent casualties." she paused, looking up to Shepard. "I'm so sorry, John. Your squad… didn't survive."

It took Shepard only a fraction of a second to gather his mind after the shock of the news hit him. His team, the team he had trained with for months until they were near "telepathic" as Mendez has described their S-II trainers. He let their faces stroll across his mind, their faces. Each serious, but relaxed.

"Thank you, ma'am…" Shepard mumbled lowly. He would miss them, but Shepard didn't have the luxury of grief at the moment… or for the last few days. "They were good soldiers."

Halsey's saddened expression disappeared so quickly Mendez would have been proud. "As for Omega Team, their deep infiltration missions are a stunning success, seventeen indoctrination camps on the Batarian homeworld and surrounding systems have been destroyed, severely lowering the enemies capacity to produce ground troops." she reported easily. "They've also begun to train small militia groups of surviving Batarians on each planet they cross."

Shepard could feel approval moving off of the attending officers and Halsey. It was a smart tactical move by Omega team. Arm the survivors, train them to fight and then unleash them on a weak enemy. But what about space transports?

"What about space travel?" Shepard asked.

"The Reapers actually don't occupy the systems themselves, only defend the mass relay," Halsey explained. "Omega reported they only arrive on planet to gather their troops from the camp, then they leave. They assure me the Reapers don't seem to take notice of their destroyed camps…" she paused, unsure. "I would guess drone Reapers. Controlled by a fully sentient one, who hasn't noticed the threat Omega poses."

Hackett hummed lightly, then said. "We'll speak more later, Halsey." he paused to turn towards someone off screen before turning back to them. "I must be going, finish the meeting without me." he disappeared.

Shepard paused, then sighed. "I'll give my report later," he said, snapping off his own com and taking a deep breath. He opened his eyes, glared at the holo-pads and then turned away. Nobody questioned his angered steps towards the elevator, or his silence, as he went to his cabin.

The Reapers had taken more heroes from this war, his team within Theta was now gone and he could feel bitterness stab at his heart. But for now, he save that bitterness until it became the rage to fight.

* * *

**Hades Gamma, Ageko. 1100 Hours.  
**"This is Watchdog, Reaper ground forces are in the kill zone, I say again, Reaper forces inside Killzone," "Watchdog" said as he and nine other Spartans sat atop a grassy hillside as they watched the Cannibals, Husks, Marauders and Ravagers march their way across the plains towards their position watching the southeast flank of the mining structure they had been sent to secure.

The plain said enemy forces were crossing was also very flat with little cover sides the small blast craters in the ground creating by crashed ships or debris from the space battle overhead and even then it wasn't much cover to shield such a large force from the ten highly trained marksman with superior position. What were the Reapers playing at trying to use this tactical nightmare?

"What are their numbers?" Came a sharp feminine voice.

"I count forty-Cans, twenty-six Mars, More than a few hundred Husks and thirty support Ravers." Watchdog replied simply, watching them through the scope of his Black Widow AM rifle. "They are currently three hundred and forty-seven meters out, forty-six…" he trailed off with his finger curling around the trigger. "Kill order?"

"Decimate them," Big Boss replied.

"Copy that," Watchdog smiled beneath his visor. "Alright, Tino, Max. I want you two to switch over to Raptor rifles, you're going to keep the Husks numbers down when they charge our position once we start firing. Jack, Blake, Vasilli and Viktor, you guys get the support Ravagers. Everyone else, you're all free game on the Can and Mars." He said.

A set of green lights winked on his Hud. He smiled.

_First shot always belongs to lead sniper, _he thought.

His finger closed on the trigger and his Black Widow sounded off, alongside him the others fired as well like a ten gun salute, they didn't even wait for the first volley to land before firing again. And through his scope, he saw a Cannibal explode from two shots, one to its gut and another to the chest. It fell.

A Marauder barely realized it was dead before its head exploded like a balloon before the other two Marauders beside it raised their weapons… then fell back when rounds meant for armored vehicles sheared through their kinetic barriers and tore their chests apart only to rip the Cannibals behind them a new breathing hole in the process.

Tino and Max were firing their Raptor rifles more rapidly, hitting the Husks that were already sprinting towards them as the Cannibals and Marauders returned inaccurate fire. They killed the closest Husk first, heads exploded, legs were blown out and crawlers were put down shortly after.

The line of Ravagers took up a loose formation before they began to blanket the hillside with weapons fire, explosive rounds detonating and kicking up dirt and grass into the air. One fell over when its legs were blown our and it comically fired at the backs of is Cannibal and Marauder allies, shredding a few of them.

"Like a turtle when they fall," Blake muttered beside Watchdog.

"Too good," Watchdog agreed. He ejected the Thermal clip and inserted a new one before resighting the Marauder he'd been tracking. "Oh, oh, check my targets, going for one mars and two cans." he said as he tracked a Marauder moving to take cover inside a blast crater.

A few rifles leaned over to see. Watchdog fired and the round sheared through the Marauder's chest, then through the head of the first Cannibal and out its back before blowing out the shoulder of the one behind that.

"Damn!" Watchdog grumbled and finished off the Cannibal.

"Nice try, Watchdog," Tino laughed, shaking his helmeted head. "Too bad you failed!"

"Yeah, yeah, shove it up your-" Watchdog's com beeped to life.

"_Omega Company, Major Monroe, How's the fight looking down there?" _their commanding officer and captain of the entire fleet overhead asked.

"_Sir, City is mostly secured, give us three more hours and we'll have posted an eviction notice,_" Big Boss' voice came over the com next. Followed by a hail of gunfire in the background along with Cannibal's screaming. She added, "_Sorry, neighbourhoods noisy this time of day_."

"_Damn fine work, Spartans. But I just got orders from Command. A carrier is on its way to come pick you up, you're all being redeployed to another theatre, apparently some things have happened and the brass needs you cracking skulls on another planet_." The Major paused, "_Over_."

Watchdog blinked, that was unexpected, then again. This wasn't a battle anymore for Omega, they took out most of the Reaper ground forces by now, the three Reapers who made it planet side were nothing but smoking piles of scrap thanks to some clever use of FENRIS tacnukes and some ballsy moves by Big Boss. So, the marines would get their chance to finish this fight.

"_Sir, understood. Omega will be packed and ready to move out in ten_," she didn't need to give the orders to know she meant for them to finish their shit in ten and be back in five. No problem, they didn't need much time to finish off the Reapers in the killing field anyways.

"Alright boys, breaks over, thin them down to nothing." Watchdog said to the others, they tore back into the Reaper marching band. His Black Widow flashing once again.

**Hades Gamma, Ageko mining Facility, 1100 Hours.  
**"Big Boss Cassidy" frowned behind her helmet, resting her Avenger on her shoulder and leaned back against the supply crates that were stacked against the wall. Her MJOLNIR Mark VII armor pretty banged up, this scorched planet. Ageko, what did the Reapers want here? She was curious, they had started mining the planet, and not just mining, but deep, deep mining. They were after something deep inside the planet. But Cassidy wasn't going to chance her Spartans by being curious. They had their orders and were being redeployed wherever.

"Cal!" She barked, standing upright and shouldering her rifle when a heavy Ravager round tore through the air and struck another Spartan, shattering the shields and forcing him to take cover. "Take out that Ravager!" she moved into cover beside another Spartan and peaked over to see the area. Reaper troops were dug in toe defend the mining site. Resistance had been heavy initially, but after the overhead fleet had triple the numbers of the Reaper fleet no transports had been able to reinforce them.

Now Big Boss was sure they were done and by the time the transports arrived to extract Omega this place would be a dead rock as it should be, no Reaper would be mining for whatever they mined for on this planet again.

She looked at their opposition, they were entrenched inside the abandoned facility and using its previous mining gear. Well, that won't do. "Alright boys, gather your clips and shoulder your blades and rifles, we're rushing their position on my signal!" she raised her Avenger. "CHARGE!" She jumped out her window and landed on the ground. Dozens of Spartans followed, leaving their covers and running in a hard sprint to close their distance on the entrenched Reaper forces.

The Marauders, Cannibals and Ravagers targeted them and fired. Shields flared and the Spartans returned a blanket of automatic fire, this was when they took their position once and for all and ended the Reaper occupation here. Boss rolled out of the way as a Ravager fired on her position, exploding the metallic dirt where she had been, but she was too fast for those slow rounds to track effectively.

Others waved left and right, soon… the fastest of their runners reached the facility walls. A few Cannibals and Marauders peaked out of their windows to get at them, but they were soon either killed or forced to take cover when the suppressing fire came from those who hadn't reached the walls of the other facility.

"Breach and clear!" Cass yelled into the com.

A few of the Omega demolitions experts pulled small circular explosives from their thighs, tapped a button and planted them on the wall. Took five steps back and with that, a series of explosions followed as the charges blew the wall inward, killing and severely wounding any of the Reapers behind them.

By the time she reached the wall, more than two dozen of her Company moved into the building that was soon filled with weapons fire and grenade detonations.

"Boss, we're securing the main facility!" One of her Spartans informed her over the com.

"Great, the rest of us will move around and clear the courtyard," She replied, frowning when she and the others moved along the wall to the main gate entrance that had been torn open. They moved into the courtyard, coming under Ravager and sniper fire from the other side of the facility. She raised her weapon and sighted a Marauder on the roof, she fired and forced it back into cover.

Missiles streak forward and struck the groundside Ravagers. They exploded with nice shows of organic and metallic bits mixed with searing hot flames. One of her Spartans primed a grenade, held it and tossed it in almost perfect timing for it to detonate as it peaked over the roof edge, killing two Marauder snipers stationed up above.

In moments, the facility was cleared and the remaining Reaper ground forces were in full retreat into the rocky fields of the planet.

And while a few stationed snipers kept the area clear, the rest of Omega were planting demolitions charges to level this facility as a going away present to any Reapers who might return and try to finish their mining operation. She was a very generous person considering how much explosives they were going to use too.

"Nobody said I wasn't a saint." She grinned to herself as she tapped a few keys on the charge she planted on the facilities main power generator. It was ancient, but it would do for a very big bang when the charge went off inside the main chamber.

"Boss, charges planted and the Major says our ride is here," Watchdog informed her.

"God it, thanks Watchdog," she lowered her hand and glanced around, opening the com. "All Omega Spartans, gather up in the courtyard, I'll set the timers." she ordered, receiving quick replies of affirmatives before she closed the com and moved off towards the exit. Pausing when she felt as if she was being watched, glancing over her shoulder with a narrowed eye.

She saw nothing, scoffing she turned and left, pulling the detonator out and smiled. "Life is a bang," she mumbled lowly, watching this place burn from orbit would be great. The feeling of being watched returned and she glanced over her shoulder again, this time staring at a particular shadow intently.

Slowly, she swore it shifted. She turned and raised her Avenger to it, frowning. She fired a burst into the darkness, revealing nothing but a rusted wall of metal sporting four new holes. "I must be losing it," she muttered softly.

"Loss… one cannot lose what it never possessed…" A voice rang out around her, but it was also inside her helmet. Her com channel opened, no one was broadcasting. The ancient, almost sagely voice continued. "Your species has always been madness, hungry and basic… even in this_… other _world I can sense so much activity, so much… life…" the building seemingly rumbled.

Big Boss glanced around, where was this voice coming from? "Where are you?" she growled.

"Everywhere, Nowhere. Outside, inside. I simply… am, but you are here, connected to my thoughts in due to this ancient machine, this Reaper buried deep beneath the Earth," The voice gave a drawn out hiss, "Even now, it hisses, growls and try to subvert me, but its meaningless efforts, its…" the voice grew unimpressed, "Indoctrination is useless to me."

"Wait," Big Boss said, tilting her head and staring at… whoever. "You're talking to me through a Reaper's Indoctrination method?"

There was a rumble, "Yes and no. I am using its method of persuasion to amplify my voice, I am… connecting, to your mind, telepathy is what your species call it."

She really had no idea what this voice was telling her, but she knew a few things now, A, a Reaper was buried here, and B, something was using it to send voices to her mind. She could frowned, was she becoming indoctrinated?

"No, You are not," the voice knew her thoughts. "I see your mind, your past, your present… I see your plight, A war of extinction and genocide," the voice almost sounded sad, it was odd. "If I may… offer a gift to aid in your effort?"

Cassidy blinked, raising her rifle again and gritting her teeth. "What gift? I was taught never to accept gifts from strangers." she fingered her trigger.

The rumble of the voice was clearly a chuckle, again the building appeared to rumble with it. "And I know humans are also told not to turn away aid if it presents itself. Do not worry, it is a simple gift, one that will benefit you greatly."

She turned when another sound drew her attention, from a hole in the wall a tentacle slithered inside the building towards, it looked organic, completely made up of muscle. It had a sharp boned tip, like a needle. "A simple prick and you will gain an ability that your species will find invaluable. The ability to heal vastly greater then your species knows."

Big Boss watched the tentacle wearily, how could it be alive? This planet wasn't exactly organic life form friendly. "I don't believe you," how could she? This thing was offering a good gift for seemingly free, but she didn't know anything about it and it was apparently using Reaper tech. "How do I know you're on the level?"

"You do not, Only way to learn is to experience." the tentacle raised itself, then present the needle. Something inside her told her to accept the gift, if it could help her win this war, despite she and her Spartan's efforts, she knew they needed every edge they could get, if this thing was on the level a faster healing rate would benefit her greatly, les medigel usage for wounds, this deal sounded better all the time.

She nodded finally. "On my wrist, a medical injection port," she said, raising her arm to the tentacle.

"Excellent, I knew you would see the value of this offer," the tentacle wrapped around her wrist, then the needle found the port and slid into it, it hissed when it was firmly locked and the atmosphere wouldn't hiss out of the armor, then the needle entered her veins and then it was gone. "It is done. Now, go, destroy this site and seek me out if you should ever require more."

Cassidy absently nodded, turning and leaving the building, her wrist ached a moment before it dulled back to its normal feeling. She felt… better, in a way, almost good. She moved to the shuttle extraction point for her and her Spartans to leave the planet as the shuttles descended to the surface.

Watchdog saw her and waved, "Took you long enough, Boss, what kept you?" he asked.

"Just double checking the timers," she lied easily, no point in telling them she was hearing voices and a tentacle had stabbed her with something. Why raise suspicion, right? "Now, are we set to pull out?" she asked.

"Yeah," Watchdog nodded.

"Go, lets see where Command sends us next, eh?" she punched his shoulder lightly.

"Hoo-ah, boss, Hooo, ah." Watchdog laughed as the shuttles landed and waited for the Spartans.

Meanwhile, while the Spartans filtered into their shuttles, the Gravemind, buried within the depths of the "wounded" Reaper beneath the surface of the planet, "watched" the Alliance Spartans gather up and leave his temporary haven. His mist gathered thickly inside the Reaper's passages, tentacles shifted here and there, he wasn't as massive as he should have been, he had only gained the mass needed thanks to the Reaper's own organic material that ran through its "veins" so to speak.

It had been pure good fortune that he had stumbled upon this planet with that UNSC pod with several of his infection forms and a couple of combat forms. He had taken great pains with such a small force to penetrate the cracks, slither through crevices and find the powerful voice that called to him the moment he touched the metallic stone surface of this world.

He found it, this Reaper, this machine of genocide and order, a truly valuable goal indeed, but this being knew nothing of how to truly attain peace, no. Gravemind would show its kind the real meaning of unity, of peace and kinship. The entirety of this galaxy will be blessed with eternal unity in due time, all in due time. He just needed to be patient and… how did humans put it? Play his cards right?

The Gravemind chuckled. Then hissed and growled, "Silence, you sad creature…" the walls rumbled, as if the Reaper were aware of this… perversion of its indoctrination methods that the Gravemind had borrowed to convince the young female Spartan that his gift was real, and it was, when the time was right she would be the first of many to embrace his unity and paradise. Oh yes.

* * *

**End of chapter 29**

**There it is, sorry for the loooooong wait, but I've slowly adding, deleting, editing and re writing this chapter for what feels like years now, so many ideas to what to do for it, I knew I wanted to reveal something huge, but everything seemed so cliché… so, I revealed the single greatest threat to the ME verse… the Flood!**

**Now, thanks to all those who have been patient, I am truly sorry it took so long and that if this chapter disappoints, but do not worry, I assure you the next chapter probably won't take as long. Hopefully… I make no promises. But I'm trying! *pout***


	31. Unto Reach

**In Infinitum**

**Chapter 30  
Unto Reach**

**CCS-**_**Legend**_**, Slipspace en route to Citadel Station. 1100 Hours.  
**The _Legend_ was truly a work of art in its own right and if the situation hadn't been so dire John would have loved to admire it further but sadly the situation was that dire. No more than three hours ago that the Alliance top Brass had received a transmission from the Council telling them that Reaper forces were en route towards the Citadel to capture it as well. That would be a knockout punch for the Alliance and most of the Citadel Space if the Reapers captured the Citadel as well as Earth. It would be a crushing defeat and no Alliance marine or Spartan would be able to stomach it, they had lost Earth and now the second most strategic target would be the Citadel.

But as Shepard moved through the halls of the _Legend_ he wondered exactly why the Reapers waited until now to try and take the Citadel. It made no sense, if they wanted to cut off the other races they could have captured it outright, instead they took Earth, destroyed Arcturus station and were engaging all the space faring races across the known universe.

What were the Reapers after? What was their ultimate goal and why go through these cycles? Despite being at war with them, they had nothing about their motives and objectives, so far all reports they were capturing and converting all species across the galaxy, taking colonies and creating conversation camps for their ground forces while destroying any fleets who were unlucky enough to encounter them, but without the MAC guns of the UNSC tech most of the Alliance Fleets were being whittled down.

Turning another corner he proceeded to the Ops Briefing room where a secure connection was being established with the highest ranking military officials of the Citadel fleets. Earth sadly would have to wait to be retaken, Shepard knew they needed to concentrate on the Citadel or this war would be much, much shorter.

He made, two Cerberus armored marines stood by the door, they saw the Commander in his Mark VII MJOLNIR armor, saluted and Shepard returned their gesture before moving past them into the room. The doors hissed closed behind him and inside the room was the Cerberus Captain of the Legend, aside from her it was just him.

The holo-table sunk into the floor and Shepard and the Captain stepped onto it.

Their holographic forms appeared in front of the Citadel council along with Admiral Hackett. Their expressions were grave to put it lightly. "Commander Shepard," the Asari councillor, Tevos, greeted him with a nod before turning another nod to the Cerberus Captain, but Shepard saw the flurry of negative emotions in her eyes for the Cerberus Captain. "Captain."

Curt as well. Shepard and the Captain replied, "Councillors."

Udina was the first to speak after them. "As I'm sure we all know by now, two hours ago a…substantial Reaper fleet was on it's way here, to the Citadel. Judging by the numbers alone, it's obvious they mean to take the station," he took a breath, "We've begun evacuation the civilian population while offering weapons to all those willing to help C-sec in the defense of the Citadel should the Reapers board the station itself."

The Turian Councillor spoke next, lifting a Datapad. "We've also recalled sixty percent of the entirety of the Citadel fleets to return to the citadel and aid in the defense of the Station as well, though, the varying distances travelled, we'll be lucky to have a hundred and twenty-nine ships by the time the Reapers reach us in three." he muttered, mandibles flexing in what Shepard knew as stress. "We're stretched thin across the galaxy…. Then we try to pull together where it counts and we're not gonna be fast enough."

"Councillor," Shepard frowned as he spoke, stepping forward. "Talking like that already? We haven't lost the Citadel yet, and I don't think we plan to lose it either. We won't lose it, not like we lost Earth." He spoke with confidence, certainty. "We've bonded together to fight a common threat, better late than never, right? We'll hold off long enough to be reinforced."

"Shepard is right," Hackett agreed. "We'll pull through this. And hopefully if we have enough ships, maybe we can also retake Earth in one swoop, turn the tide of this conflict."

"What else are we doing to make the Citadel defensible?" Shepard asked now when a moment of silence passed over their meeting. The Council had never seen such confidence, such bravery in the face of odds like these before, not since the Turians. Humanity, they realized, despite having lost their homeworld was still willing to fight its hardest.

It was inspiring.

"We're refitting all civilian ships with weapons, setting up a perimeter around the relay and trying to gather every MAC gun equipped ship we can pull from the other theatres of war," Hackett replied to Shepard. "We're also coordinating with Cerberus Intelligence Officers about Reaper movements in neighbouring systems, try and give us real time information on their whereabouts," Hackett paused, then added. "We're also discussing a possible solution. It came from Doctor T'soni, Shepard. She and Cerberus techs have been looking over the data from the Mars Archives. They've discovered plans to a Prothean Super weapon."

A Prothean super weapon? Shepard blinked at that one. "A super weapon? What kind?"

"We don't know, we're still sorting through that, but from what she tells us. It's massive, requiring a lot of resources. But it also requires something called The Catalyst, what that is we're still unclear about as well." The Admiral sighed, "She's still working on it. But we're not throwing our chips in with that, it would take too long and we need to win this war quickly. We don't have the time to build a super weapon with so many unknowns."

Shepard agreed, hopefully Liara will come up with more in the following hours. If she was working with Cerberus, they would hopefully keep on task. Say what you will about the Black Ops group, they knew their stuff. "Anything else?"

"Yes, we've recalled the entire Spartan Divisions from their respective fields and deploying them to the Citadel for added defense. That includes you, Shepard. You'll be deployed to the Citadel with the other Spartans to provide support as needed," Hackett smiled thinly. "I feel sorry for the poor bastards who land."

"Sir, so do I." Shepard grinned, not at all sorry.

It would be good to fight alongside his fellow Spartans again, he knew James was itching to tear it up with others like he and Shepard. It would be one big family reunion, except with Reaper corpses littering the floors and skies like the oversized cockroaches they were.

Stow it, Spartan. Mendez told them about Over-Confidence and its dangers, Shepard realized he was being overly confident. Spartans were good, but Reapers were still a force to be reckoned with. He quickly cooled his emotions down, no need to get ahead of himself.

"Captain," Tevos turned to the Cerberus Captain. "When will you be arriving?"

"In twenty minutes or so, Councillor," The Captain replied simply. "Once we do, I assume we'll receive our orders on site?"

"Yes," Tevos nodded.

Slipspace, it was a wonderful thing. Shepard almost grinned again, but kept himself in check. It had provided so much doors into combat, no doubt the Reapers had been surprised by such technology when The Legend left an impression on Palavan in the retaking of the planet. It's Plasma Weaponry and sheer size certainly left an impression on Shepard. The thing made the Destiny Ascension feel like a toy.

"Anything else?" Shepard asked.

"Nothing more at this time, please arrive quickly," The Councillors closed the link. Leaving the Captain, Shepard and Hackett alone.

Hackett spoke after a moment. "They're very curious about our gear."

"They know about the AIs?" Shepard raised a brow.

"No, but they if they find out they'll throw a fit." Hackett sighed, the after affects of this war were going to be very troublesome indeed.

"They'll just have to suck it," The Captain spoke up from her place, eyes livid with agitation. "After this war, humanity will be the most powerful player in this galaxy. They wanna make a fuss about how we use our tech? let em, they can't do anything to make us stop."

Shepard couldn't disagree, between the ability to use Slipspace, deploy Spartans in MJOLNIR and use MAC guns. He now saw Humanity would be the sole Supreme power within the galaxy and he doubted the Council would take extreme measures against them considering it was humanity who pulled them out of the fire. No, the Council owed Humanity a massive debt they did anything and Shepard would be most displeased.

The Cerberus Captain raised a hand to her ear, listening to the comm unit there before lifting her gaze back up to Hackett, "Sorry, Admiral, Commander. I'm needed on the bridge," she snapped a crisp salute, turned and made off towards the door.

Shepard didn't turn to watch her go, instead he pulled himself from his thoughts and looked at Hackett. "Where are you now? The Citadel?"

The Admiral nodded. "Yes, I'm overseeing fleet organization and strategies with half a dozen other fleet commanders, this joint fleet business is very tricky," He gave Shepard a lopsided smile. "But it will be worth-" his image flickered, voice distorting finally blinking from existence.

"Hackett?" Shepard frowned, then keyed his comm. "Captain, something just went wrong with the transmission from Hackett, this a technical reason?"

"No, Commander. We've just received intel that the Citadel has come under Reaper attack, looks like a small fleet made it there before the main assault force," the Captain's cool as ice tone returned, "We'll be there shortly. Gather the troops in the hanger, prep some shuttles and be prepared to go in guns hot."

"Ma'am," Shepard doubled timed it the armory. He reached, stepped inside and when the requisition Officer turned to him, Shepard spoke firmly. "I need a weapon."

* * *

**Citadel Station, Widow system. 1041 Hours.  
**Frederic-105 balanced the knife on his fingertip, like he loved to do to test his focus and balance. His finger didn't twitch, the knife didn't teeter until finally he flicked the blade around and caught it by the handle and with a smooth move of his arm sheathed the weapon. He turned to check over Blue Team, each had been adorned in the newest Mark VII MJOLNIR armor. Soft green plates, black under suit and golden visors. It felt natural, yet different somehow to be wearing them.

Linda was doodling with the scope of her Black Widow Anti-Material rifle. He could tell she would have preferred an SRS99C model rifle, but she wouldn't complain to him, even through her armor he could see she was focused on making the adjustments to the scope. A pre-mission habit of hers.

His gaze drifted to Kelly. She was lounging out by some ammunition crates with a Banshee in hand. She looked as if able to feel his eyes on her, their stares met and she nodded to him. He returned the gesture shortly. Kelly had always been there for him, she was his second in command and a fine soldier.

Jorge, it had been awhile, but he was still Spartan and it was nice to see he hadn't lost his touch for heavy Weapons. Hefting a Dragon launcher on one shoulder and a Banshee in the other hand. Fred had asked where he had been all the years before Reach, the large man had just told him being noble. Fred left it at that.

Then there was the S-IIIs who had been turned into IVs due to the further augmentation of the SPARTAN IV Program, Ash, Olivia and Mark had become a full part of Blue Team. Each were all wearing Mark VII, Ash was a bright young soldier, even by Spartan standards he was a good leader. Fred had a feeling Ash would go far. Mark skills with his own Widow was impressive, he wasn't quite Linda, but few could match his teammate in skill, but Mark's own skills far outshone anything the others could do as well. Olivia, she was a good soldier in general, she was faster than the others, slower than Kelly, a better shot than Ash, but not Mark, she could lead if it came down to it, but not like Ash or Fred.

She was very adaptable, if not quick to temper sometimes.

They all fiddled with their gear, a mixture of Widows, Banshees and Dragon launchers.

Fred and Blue Team were more than ready for this war and after months of training the IVs for the war he was eager to step onto a battleground and do what he did best. Be a Spartan. He looked up into the space of the Citadel, where dozens of ships, Asari, Turian, Alliance and Solarian all mixed up in an impressive defense fleet and more would only arrive to defend this key point in the Galaxy's overall defense.

It felt like Reach to him and he didn't know if he liked that or not, Reach had fallen despite the best efforts of his Spartans on the ground or John's in space they had lost. Reach had been glassed and the UNSC suffered a near fatal blow to its military strength. And Fred had lost more men than any other Operation he had ever lead in his career as a Spartan and a leader. Reach had never made Fred feel more worthless as a leader.

An armored hand landed on his shoulder where it stayed a moment. Fred didn't have to look up to see it was Kelly, consoling him as she usually did when he found himself sinking into a dark pit inside his mind, guiding him back to the light that was his duty. He took a breath, gathered his wits and looked up at her. "Thanks, Kelly."

"No problem," her tone a fracture softer..

He stood, stretched out his armored limbs and turned back to Blue Team. "Alright, Blue Team, gather your gear." Blue Team snapped to their orders, attaching Thermal Magazines to the magnetic plates on their armor and attaching more traditional fabric pouches along their thighs for added carrying capacity for their ammunition.

Fred looked over their position. It was a hastily converted Defense checkpoint in one of C-Sec's security stations, they had brought in crates of Thermal clips and magazines, weapons and weapon emplacements. This checkpoint had two heavy dual barrelled machineguns with overlapping fields of fire down the wide hallways to the checkpoint. Should the Reapers land ground troops on the station, there were seven others checkpoints such as this. Zulu, Foxtrot, Kilo, November, Indigo, Bravo and Juliet respectively. Fred and Blue Team were in charge of their construction and now it was time to move onto the next checkpoint to see if it was up to par like this one.

Sides the seven checkpoints. The main C-Sec headquarters was the primary Military command center from which all the defensive efforts on the station itself. Fleet efforts were being communicated aboard the Flagship Destiny Ascension. All in all, Fred was pleased to see the hustle around here. And unlike Reach, they had hours, not minutes, to prepare a defense.

After their gear had been gathered, they left the checkpoint in the care of two dozen Special Response C-Sec team members and a few regular officers. Fred and the rest of Blue Team proceeded to the central transit hub to get to their transport. Once in the air Blue Team decided to simply enjoy the ride to the other checkpoint, Gamma.

"Fleet sure is small," Kelly said from beside him. Gazing up through the window into the space overhead where the main defense fleet had gathered.

"This universe had laws pertaining to fleet size," Fred replied with a sigh. Why did they have such a law? It only limited their power overall and made policing much more difficult. "From what I have seen, that fleet up there is rather large, considering how many more on their way, I think we'll have the largest fleet in this universe. Added to the Citadel's MAC weaponry. I think we have a chance."

"Reach was the same way," Jorge said from beside Linda in the second pair of seats. Every Spartan understood and shared the same bitter memories of their once great fortress in the stars. "We should jinx ourselves."

"Spartans make their own luck," Linda whispered beside him.

"That they do," Kelly agreed shortly.

There was a sudden buzzing in their com units, The Spartans quickly check their gear, Fred open a channel to Linda, she didn't reply to his call. They tried, nothing from anyone, the buzzing grew louder and Kelly peaked up through the window a powerful light began to formed in the space in the center of the Citadel's arms. Near the tip of the Citadel tower, it collected energy, slowly, a ring of blue white energy appeared over their heads.

The transport they were inside shuddered as an electrical surge struck their systems. "Prepare for a hard landing!" Fred grit his teeth, took the steering wheel in his hands and tried, to no avail, to steady the now tumbling craft.

"What the hell is that!? Slipspace rupture?" Kelly growled, grabbing anything for a brace.

Linda gripped the overhead railing, silent. "Not sure!" Jorge said from his spot.

In the rear of the craft Ash, Olivia and Mark were clutching their own railings, but each had a hand on their weapons as well. The transport descended, skimmed along an overhead archway and then tumbled into one of the wards where it crashed into a storefront. The smoking, broken transport stayed unmoving for a few moments before the front and rear doors were unceremoniously kicked off their hinges. Then several heavily armored figures stepped out of the wreck, weapons in hand and some patting the side of their heads.

A few civilians had come to investigate the crash. But all throughout the air the rapid transit shuttles, military transports and other smaller craft plummeted. Also having lost power, A Special Response team appeared at the crash site, the leader was a Turian. He approached the Spartans. "Alliance, right? You guys alright?" he asked, tone urgent but calm. The sign of a veteran.

Fred glanced over his teams Bios. They were all green. "We're good, sir," he looked overhead as a speeder sped by before crashing into another store further up on the ward. "You got coms?"

The Turian shook his head. "What that was, it knocked out our communication packages, we can't even raise the checkpoints." he explained.

That wasn't good, the rapid transit system was down and all support in the air at the time had just taken crash courses. Overhead the ring of energy brightened a fraction before it rippled open, revealing the front end of a Sovereign Class-Reaper ship. Another followed and another until Fred counted almost two dozen Reapers entering Citadel space by bypassing the relay.

"By the spirits…" The Turian said in fearful awe.

Fred narrowed his eyes. That wasn't right, in order to perform this galaxy's version of a Slipspace jump you needed a relay. And there was no relay here unless, _Damnit, why didn't I see it before? _Shepard's report and explanation on the Reapers had mentioned that all this, the citadel and Relays, had all been built by the Reapers. The Citadel didn't look like the normal relays, but then again most relays weren't designed to allow an entire race of sentient machines to travel through in a flood of genocidal fury.

Fred tried his com. "Anyone receiving me?" static. He looked back up, saw the defense fleet attempting to turn around, but with the closed space they were sharing, they couldn't move at full speed to face the enemy that had just flanked them. Fred knew what was coming, he knew it and damned if he couldn't do anything to stop again this time too.

He grit his teeth and waited for the slaughter. For the inevitable truth that he who controlled the air controlled the ground and his Spartans would be helpless, wait, helpless? He turned to the Turians. "Do you have status' on the MAC emplacements?"

The Turian blinked out of his stupor and thought a moment. "They're operation. But their targeting systems are done because of the burst-"

"Can they be fired manually?" Fred cut in.

"Yes, they can." The Turian seemed to understand what Fred was getting at because the fear in his eyes was dimming and being replaced by the spark of eagerness to best a foe. An explosion echoed out overhead and they looked spacewards. Above the _Destiny Ascension _detonated. The most powerful ship this universe could construct was just destroyed.

Fred looked back to the Turian. "Split up your team, we'll split our forces and make way to two MAC locations." he turned to Blue Team, "Ash, you're leading Blue Beta, take Linda, Olivia and Jorge." Ash nodded, snapped a salute. "The rest of you," Fred addressed the remainder of Blue Team. "You're with me."

The Turian constructed two teams, each comprised of four members, soon their parties paired up and they went their separate ways on foot. Fred wasn't going to let this end like Reach. Not again.

* * *

**Destiny Ascension, Citadel. 1100 Hours.  
**Matriarch Indaryne sat atop her command throne inside the formidable _Destiny Ascension_. The flagship of the Citadel fleet since her construction and the pride of the Asari Republics. She boasted enough fire power to sheer any other ship in half with her Mass Accelerator cannon and enough GARDIAN lasers to roast four squadrons of fighters. It was a lovely ship and the Matriarch couldn't be more proud to command her.

She watched as ships moved about carefully into their assigned positions. A holographic tactical map was active on the bridge while she coordinated their defenses. The humans had placed various new weapon emplacements on the Citadel itself. MAC guns is what they called them, apparently for a last line of defense against Reaper forces should the fleet not stop their forces.

Indaryne had every confidence they would stop the Reapers at the relay. The fleet was ready, they had watched combat data time and time again, each captain had studied every battle against the Reapers in the last several hours, she herself had taken the liberty of seeing them beforehand and again. She would defend this citadel and crush the enemy like the insects they appeared to be.

Com chatter increased and reports filled the holoview. Reports from the initial greeting force by the relay, nothing yet. Still clear and safe, Indaryne hated the waiting, absolutely hated it. But it bought their people on the Citadel enough time to prepare and for the fleet to get into position and for more ships arrive to reinforce their lines. Assuming they didn't meet the Reaper Strike force on the way here.

Suddenly, her Communications Officer turned to her, worry creasing her otherwise beautiful Asari features. "Ma'am, communication lines are experienced… problems." she said, unsure what to call it.

"Put it on speaker." Indaryne replied. Her com Officer did so and a dull buzzing filled the bridge, the crew didn't turn from their stations but they did pause slightly, what was that? "What in the Goddess is this? Is it some malfunction?" she asked her officer.

"No ma'am, no ship of ours is broadcasting, we're not receiving a signal, its just… interferance," the Com officer's hands flew over some keys in an attempt to find the problem. "I'm reading no software intrusions or misplacements. Whatever this is, it's not normal."

"Can we hail the other ships?"

"No, ma'am."

Indaryne frowned, stood and moved to the Communications station and stared at the information sprawling across the screen. "What is this?" she narrowed her eyes at the screen.

"Ma'am!" Her Weapons Officer called to her urgently. "High Energy output detected behind us! Energy levels rising steadily." she turned back to her screen, "Signature matches relay transitions!"

"But there isn't a relay nearby!" Indaryne snapped and marched back to her chair. "Put it on view-" an electrical surge rocked the ship, making it shudder slightly and their screens sputter, the holodisplay died and sparks flooded the command keys of the bridge.

"Report!" Indaryne barked.

"Ma'am, communications are down!" Operations called. "Weapons systems minimal, propulsion minimal and kinetic barriers are fried. We're virtually dead in space!"

"What the hell was that?" An Electro Magnetic Pulse? It had to be, it had taken their systems for one hell of a ride.

"Ma'am! I'm reading relay transitions again!" Operations called, "Signatures are a match to Sovereign Class Reapers, behind us!"

"Turn this ship around!" Indaryne. "Order all ships to turn around and engage!"

"We can't! Coms are still down!"

"Ma'am! They're targeting us! Estimate five, no, seven Reaper vessel targeting us!" The Asari stood with fear written across her face before sprinting to try and escape the bridge, maybe make it to the escape pods.

Indaryne didn't bother. By the time that Asari made it halfway they would be on their way to the Goddess. "Been an honor, sisters." Their kinetic barriers were down, they couldn't turn fast enough and without communications they were completely exposed to the attacks that were about to tear the _Ascension _apart.

The Reaper fleet hovered in place a moment, soon all twenty-nine of the Sovereign Class ships accompanied by three Carrier-Class vessels, which veered off and descended to the arms of the Citadel to drop off their payload of Reapified prisoners turned killing machines. Seven Reapers revealed their glowing red eyes, which quickly began to charge for the initial attack of this likely short battle.

The Citadel defense fleet sluggishly turned, their barriers and other systems down or almost out, a few even collided mid-flight together with their sister ships in their mad frenzy to turn and face their foe. All for not.

The first wave of Reapers opened fire, spears of light cutting across space like rapier strikes and bisected several ships, others pierced their reactors and caused detonations which sent the debris falling into other unshielded vessel beside them in their formations. The Destiny Ascension was being cut across and through by the concentrated of seven Reapers. It faltered, vented atmosphere and listed lazily to the side.

The Harbinger-Class vessel targeted the dying ship. It's Violet eye gathered power, glowed white hot before firing three spears of light, impacting the Ascension with enough force and energy to shear it into two pieces while one of its "fins" barely held on due to the melted hull that the beam had caused. It listed faster then detonated in a brilliant show of sparks, debris and fire.

The Reaper fleet moved forward, going in for the mop up as the few surviving ships tried to make way towards the relay force. Which had turned about and were moving at best speed to aid the Citadel despite the fact the main force had just been decimated by the surprise attack. Their Mass Accelerator Cannons fired, cutting across space and impacting the Reaper's kinetic barriers, harmlessly deflected. More ships weapons impacted across the Reapers fleet, a few lost their shields and were minorly damaged.

But they continued forward, meeting the Citadel fleet with an almost angry charge. Their energy beams cut across space, shattering the Kinetic of smaller ships and destroying them. Larger Dreadnought and Cruiser class vessels lost their barriers, were badly damaged, but had the strength to continue firing. Others luckily evaded the strikes and sped forward to take the heat off their larger ships to save the firepower.

On the bridge of the SSV-_Hannibal_, a Dreadnought class ship from the Alliance. Admiral Hackett stood and watched the Reaper fleet approach, he turned to his com Officer. "Send a message to the Spirit, Legend and Reach! I want them here ASAP!" he snapped to the younger officer before turning back to the view screen. "Hard to port!"

The Hannibal veered hard to the left to avoid an energy beam from one of the Reaper Vessels. Only to have the weapon graze their barriers in the rear, Hackett frowned, "Order the _Horus_ and _Velsier_ to form up on us! I want them targeting the Reapers to our front. Have them fire their cannons and disruptor torpedoes on my mark!"

He turned to his Weapons Operator. "Arm two Hellfire missiles and prepare to fire on my signal." he turned as his crew jumped to his orders, in moments the Asari and Turian dreadnoughts fired their cannons and torpedoes at the two Reapers Hackett indicated. They impacted and took down its barriers.

Hackett grinned. "Fire Hellfires!"

Two missiles shot from the hull of the _Hannibal_ and streaked towards the undefended Reapers. They struck center mass of the targets and with a vicious fireball blew the Reapers in half, they floated apart and Hackett hushed the celebrations of his crew to order them to dodge the incoming volley of fire.

Fighter deployed to meet the fleet of Iris fighters that they Reapers began to deploy as well. Soon, Hackett watched as the space around him was filled with explosions, Reapers and Citadel froces exchanging vicious attacks, it was a frenzy of Sharks VS Killer Whales.

A blast rocked the _Hannibal _and Hackett stumbled, steadied himself and looked up. "I hope the reinforcements arrive before we're put down." he muttered. He was thankful to be fighting at all, from the initial readings of the main defense fleet their system had been hit hard, unlike the fleet Hackett was commanding by the Relay. A lucky break, he supposed.

Now it was all on how long they could last in space and the ground.

**End of chapter 30**

**There it is, people! I finally updated again and this time. The story slowly comes to a close! So, expect the next few chapters to begin to wrap this up.**


End file.
